


Homo Homini Lupus.

by orphan_account



Series: Homo Homini Lupus [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abuse of Supernatural Puns, Anal Fingering, Bands, Blood and Gore, Blow Jobs, Bottom Derek Hale/Top Stiles Stilinski, Humor(I guess), Multi, Nightmares, Post-Season/Series 03B, Pre-Scott McCall/Isaac Lahey - Freeform, Scintilla Stiles, Shower Sex, Smut, Temporary Character Death, Top Derek Hale/Bottom Stiles Stilinski, Witches and Wendigos and Hunters oh my
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-11
Updated: 2016-05-02
Packaged: 2018-05-19 18:05:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5976241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"They were children and children were cruel and they wore their feelings like the skin of their knees, easy to bleed where everyone could see"</p><p> </p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys!!  
> Here are a few things you should know about this story.  
> The title is a Latin proverb meaning 'A human is a wolf to other humans.'  
> The story starts after the finale of Season 3B, meaning that Allison and Aiden are dead, but in this story's universe, Kira and Malia never existed. Derek is the Alpha of the pack and Erica and Boyd never died. Also, Derek can transform into a wolf.  
> Sadly, I don't have a Beta, so any mistakes are mine, though I'll try to not make any. But, since I'm not a native English speaker, I can't make any promises.  
> Chapters will be up as soon as I finish them, but since I'm a Senior in High School, don't expect that to be fast.  
> Last but not least, I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it and if you have any questions feel free to message me on my tumblr (mycapofmisfortune.)  
> Happy reading!
> 
> *warning about this chapter*  
> Graphic description of blood and dead bodies.  
> Graphic description of a panic attack.

He heard Lydia’s piercing scream even though he was unconscious. He felt Lydia falling down on him, her body heavy with grief, tears running down her face, wetting his shirt. But he didn’t care. He was unconscious after all. Then something touched his cheek. A soft and gentle touch. Then his shoulder. Someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes, waiting to see Lydia’s soft ginger curls, but all he saw was bright yellow. Scott’s eyes. They were looking at him, his face, his clothes and they were filled with so much hatred it was almost unbearable to gaze into them. Scott opened his mouth and said something but Stiles didn’t hear. He blinked and he was at the graveyard. 

Scott and Chris Argent were kneeling in front of Allison’s grave, both with matching grieving faces. Isaac was a few feet behind Scott, trying hard to keep his tears from escaping his eyes. Stiles remembered that he was a couple of feet behind Isaac, but he was in front of him as well. He was behind and in front of everyone. 

He blinked again and he was at Scott’s porch, his best friend looking everywhere but him.

‘I just need some time.’ Scott had said and Stiles had nodded with a tight smile.

‘I understand.’ Was his reply. And he did understand. He had killed Allison. Scott’s first love. He knew that Scott didn’t want him around him. He didn’t want to be around himself.

Another blink. His father was sitting in the kitchen. A bottle of Whiskey on the table and big, black bags under his eyes. 

Another blink. He was in the graveyard again. This time, he was alone and in front of Allison’s graveyard. 

_*Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes*_ He read. 

At least, Allison died an honorable death. 

He blinked again. 

He was at the forest. Derek was in front of him. His eyes were bright red and he was growling at him. 

‘It’s your fault.’ Derek snarled. Stiles wanted to open his mouth and defend himself, but he couldn’t. What could he say? After all, it really was his fault.

‘Everyone’s dead because of you!’ Derek yelled and for the first time Stiles looked around them. They were at the Nemeton.

First, he spotted Scott. His head was turned towards him, his features scrunched in pain. His lifeless eyes staring holes into Stiles’ head. And then he looked down. Scott’s heart was ripped out of his chest, lying next to his dead body, grass and leaves in a pool of blood around him. 

Then he saw his father. He was a few feet away from Scott, holding his gun in his right hand. He had his Sherriff uniform on, his badge half-hanging from his shirt. His eyes were cast down and Stiles followed their gaze with his own, letting out a sob at what he saw. His father’s shirt was bloody and torn, the Sheriff's guts hanging out of his abdomen. He wanted to throw up but nothing came up. 

Lydia was next. The once beautiful girl was unrecognized. Her hair was wild and greasy, torn and bloodied clothes and her neck obviously broken. He saw Isaac’s head and then his body a few feet away next. Erica and Boyd’s bodies were next. Broken and bloody. He saw Jackson lying dead with several bullet holes decorating his body. 

‘I’m dead because of you!’ He had forgotten about Derek. He turned towards the voice but all he saw was Derek lying on top of bloody leaves, purple lines running down his arms and neck. He was still alive and Stiles run to him side.

‘Derek, Derek.’ He shook his shoulders and Derek’s eyes fell open, staring blankly at Stiles. ‘You’re going to be fine.’ He gave him an encouraging smile, despite the tears and snot running down his face. Derek coughed up black blood and opened his mouth to say something.

‘All…your…fault.’ He rasped out, blood coming out of his mouth with every word and just like that he was gone. 

Stiles fell back with a chocked up sob. He touched his face to wipe his tears but he realized that they were covered with Derek’s blood.

‘No.’ He looked around at the dead bodies of his friends and father and started crying even louder. ‘No, no! Make it stop! Please. It wasn’t my fault! Please!’ He sobbed and sobbed for what seemed like eternity. 

Suddenly he felt something closing around his ankle. He screamed and crawled away but it was still there. He looked down and saw Derek’s hand around his foot.

‘You’re alive, Derek!’ He said and crawled next to his friend. ‘I’m so sorry. I never wanted anything to happen to you, to all of you. I’m so sorry.’ But, Derek wasn’t answering. His eyes were open, staring into Stiles’ and his lips were moving. 

Stiles willed his breath to quit down so he could listen to Derek.

‘Stiles. Stiles. Stiles.’ Derek was saying. In a voice that was getting louder, Stiles realized that everyone was saying his name. 

Scott, his father, Lydia. They were all saying his name. Then Isaac joined. It was getting louder each time they were saying his name. Then Boyd and Erica started. Jackson was the last to join. By now it was unbearable to listen. Then his father was on top of him, screaming his name in his face, his guts hanging from his abdomen and Stiles cried like he had never cried in his life and suddenly he was in his room, crying in his alive father’s arms, Derek a few feet away from them, looking scared and relieved at the same time.

‘Hey, hey. Stiles, you’re alright.’ John was whispering to his son. He sent a desperate glance at Derek who shook his head. Stiles’ sobs had filled the room and they were the only thing the two men could hear.

‘Is he alive?’ Stiles whispered a few minutes later. Silent tears were still running down his face as he took some deep breaths to calm himself down.

‘What are you talking about, Stiles?’ John asked him gently. Derek was a few steps closer to the bed but Stiles still hadn’t noticed him.

‘Derek. Is Derek alive?’ Stiles asked and immediately Derek moved so Stiles could see him.

‘I’m here Stiles. I’m alive.’ Derek assured him and Stiles let out a sound that was half a sigh, half a sob.

‘What happened, son?’ John asked softly and Stiles took a deep breath before answering.

‘You were all dead.’ He murmured. ‘And then you attacked me.’ He looked at is father, saw the horror and pain in his eyes and looked away.

Derek was listening to his heart-beat. It was slowing down, slowly, but it was and Derek was thankful for it.

‘Do you thing you can go back to sleep?’ Derek asked and Stiles shook his head.

The Sheriff sighed but didn’t say anything. It was already 4 in the morning and he had to be up at 6. He looked at Derek who nodded.

‘I’ll stay with him.’ The werewolf said and John sighed in relief. He kissed Stiles’ forehead and went back to bed, certain that he wouldn’t be able to catch any sleep.

Stiles and Derek were sitting in complete silence. Stiles’ heart was beating at a normal speed; as normal Stiles’ heart could beat.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable but it wasn’t comfortable either.

Finally, Stiles broke the silence.

‘Why are you here?’ He wondered with a raspy voice.

‘Why wouldn’t I be here?’ Derek asked and Stiles shrugged.

‘Because it’s me.’ He said, like it was the answer to everything in the universe.

‘You are pack.’ Derek corrected and Stiles let out a bitter chuckle and shook his head.

‘What?’ Derek looked at Stiles, really looked at him and saw the dark circled on his eyes, how he had lost some weight over the last couple weeks.

‘I killed Allison, Derek. I don’t deserve to be pack.’ Stiles said and Derek could smell the lone tear before it even run down Stiles’ face.

‘It wasn’t your fault. Nothing was your fault. You were possessed.’ Derek assured him but knew that Stiles didn’t believe him.

‘Why are you here?” Stiles asked again.

‘Why wouldn’t I be here?’ Derek repeated his previous question.

‘Because you hate me.’ Stiles said and Derek’s heart shank.

‘I don’t hate you.’ He murmured and Stiles snorted.

‘I torture all of my friends, that’s how I show love.’ Stiles mocked but there was no humor behind his voice.

Derek wanted to ask if it was a Supernatural quote but he couldn’t find his voice.

‘I never hated you.’ He finally said. ‘You are annoying and you get on my nerves but I don’t hate you.’ 

‘You said it was my fault.’ Stiles said, cutting him off.

‘What?’ Derek asked confused.

‘In my dream, nightmare, whatever. It could be the future for all I know. You were dying and you said it was my fault. Then you died and I couldn’t do a thing. It was awful Derek.’ Stiles said, his voice close to a whisper and Derek was horrified. He sat down next to Stiles on the bed.

‘I don’t hate you and it wasn’t your fault. And I’ll do anything I can to make you believe it.’ Derek said and Stiles gave him a small smile.

He didn’t believe it yet, but it was a good start.

‘Thanks.’ Stiles said in a small voice.

‘We have a pack meeting tomorrow. I’d like it if you come.’ Derek told him.

‘I’ll think about it.’ Stiles said with a yawn.

‘If I stay here, will you go back to sleep?’ Derek asked and Stiles shrugged with another yawn.

‘I can sure try.’ He said and fell back on his bed.

Derek sat on the desk chair, his gaze still on the teenage boy.

‘Night.’ Stiles whispered, his heart-beat slowing down, meaning he fell asleep.

‘Goodnight Stiles.’ Derek said back and the room was silent.

The next day came and Stiles woke up in an empty room. He didn’t know if he was happy that Derek wasn’t here to see him wake up or sad that Derek wasn’t here to watch him wake up. The only thing he was sure about was that he was feeling something and right now, feeling something wasn’t a welcome feeling.

As he woke up farther he noticed a note lying on his bedside table and saw Derek’s nice handwriting.

* _We have a pack meeting at 5. I hope you come. Derek._ *

He felt a smile grow on his face as he folded the note and put in on his drawer. 

Stiles was alone at home. His father was at work, Derek was doing whatever and Scott was avoiding him. It was already 11 in the morning so he had a few hours to kill till 5. He took a long shower, made some food for himself and put the leftovers in the fridge for his father. Then, he sat on his desk and spent his remaining hours researching about every supernatural being that came into is mind.

He climbed out of his jeep at 5.15. He had battled with himself about going or not going and the selfish part of him won. He wanted to prove something, he wasn’t sure what but he knew that the need was there. As he entered the now renovated Hale house he was met with silence. Surely the werewolves had heard his jeep, could hear his heart-beat, and could smell the anxiety roll off him in waves.

Firstly, he saw Isaac who was at the kitchen drinking a glass of water. The beta saw him and gave him a small nod. Stiles managed to give one of his own but they stopped at that. He entered the living room where every member of the pack was. Lydia gave him a small smile and he gave her a small wave in return. Jackson was looking at him but he didn’t do anything and Scott was like he wasn’t even there. Boyd was silent as usual. The only person who seemed happy to see him was Erica. She gave him a big smile and patted the space to her right on the couch. He sat down next to her and she hugged him.

‘How are you?’ She asked him gently and he sighed.

He hated when people asked him if he was okay. If he said no, then they would say they were sorry. What did sorry mean? Were they sorry for him not being okay or sorry for them that they couldn’t do anything to make him feel alright? 

If he said yes, then they could hear his lie because he truly wasn’t okay.

Stiles shrugged. He wasn’t okay but he was better.

‘Where’s Derek?’ He asked, having not seen the Alpha upon his entrance.

‘He went out to get food.’ She answered and then glanced at the door. ‘Actually, he’s here.’ She smiled and Stiles let out a sigh of relief.

Derek walked in and put the many bags of chips and the many packages of biscuits on the table in front of the pack.

He then smiled at Stiles. ‘Glad you could come.’ He said with a small smile and Stiles gave one back.

‘Why are we having a pack meeting?’ Isaac asked, sitting down to Boyd’s side.

‘A couple of days ago I was running some errands and I caught the smell of something. I thought it was nothing but I caught the same smell yesterday afternoon as well.’ Derek explained. ‘It was stronger, like it was coming closer.’

‘What did it smell like?’ Lydia wondered.

‘It smelled like death, something foul and dark. I’ve smelled it before but I don’t remember where.’ The Alpha said.

‘It smelled like death, so like a dead body?’ Erica asked and Derek shook his head.

‘If it was a dead body I would have find it.’

‘So, what is it?’ Jackson asked annoyed and Derek wanted to flash his red eyes at him.

‘It could be a witch or a wendigo. Witches usually run in groups, a coven if you will. They were humans that sold their souls to the earth spirits making them hard to kill but not impossible.’ Stiles said in a small voice like he didn’t know if he was allowed to talk.

They all looked at him and he ducked his head missing the smile Derek sent his way.

‘What about wendigos?’ The Alpha asked and Stiles looked at him.

‘They used to be humans but circumstances made them eat human flesh. As they continued eating they started to change. They seem like your casual human, but when they want they can draw pointed teeth and claws filled with a toxin that can paralyze a common human but thankfully, only slow a werewolf.’ Stiles explained.

‘How do you know all that?’ Erica asked him in awe and he shrugged.

‘Research.’ He answered like it was no big deal.

‘How do you kill it?’ Derek asked and Stiles stiffened.

‘You don’t.’ He said.

‘What do you mean _you don’t?_ ’ Jackson asked annoyed and Stiles felt a wave of anger wash over him.

‘I mean you don’t. You don’t kill a wendigo. If you kill a wendigo, then its spirit will be free to run around. It will kill people searching for a body.’ He explained and they all fell silent as they let the news sink in.

‘How do we get rid of it?’ Erica asked.

‘They are people. In order for the spirit to stay trapped is for the person to kill themselves.’ Stiles said and Isaac gave a small whimper.

‘I’m really hoping for witches right now.’ The beta werewolf commented, trying to light up the atmosphere but he didn’t accomplish it.

They were all silent, waiting for Derek to make a plan.

Finally, the Alpha cleared his throat.

‘Until we find if it is a witch or a wendigo, no one goes anywhere alone, especially the humans.’ Derek sent a pointed look at Stiles and Lydia who scoffed back.

‘I’m a Banshee.’ Lydia pointed out.

‘But you don’t have werewolf healing.’ The Alpha snapped and Lydia fell silent.

‘If you find a witch or a wendigo, you don’t attack. If they attack you, you defend yourself but if it’s a wendigo you don’t kill it.’ Derek said and they all agreed.

‘I’m going to get a glass of water.’ Stiles announced and got up. As he was putting the glass down in the sink, he heard steps and turned around and saw Scott.

The beta werewolf looked like a kicked puppy and Stiles took a deep breath and sat on a chair.

Scott sat beside him. They were silent for several minutes and Stiles was sure that the rest of the pack was holding their breath trying to listen to them.

‘I’m sorry.’ Scott said suddenly. Stiles opened his mouth to speak but Scott didn’t give him the chance.

‘When Alisson died, I wanted desperately to blame someone. I blamed you for a while, but I know that it wasn’t your fault. I blamed me for a while too. I kept thinking about all the ifs. What if I had gone faster? What if we were never together? Would she be alive right now?’ Scott let out a bitter chuckle. Stiles didn’t press him. He knew Scott. He would say what he wanted in his own pace.

‘I kept thinking about all the ifs.’ Scott repeated. ‘And it drove me crazy. It’s a dangerous road.’ He turned to Stiles and looked him in the eyes. ‘I’ve been an awful friend to you. I’ve been away when you needed me the most and I was too busy self-pitying. I miss you and I want to be your friend again.’ Scott concluded, making Stiles smile.

‘I miss you too.’ Stiles said and Scott took a shaky breath.

‘So, friends again?’ The beta werewolf asked hopyful.

‘Friends.’ Stiles agreed and they heard the rest of the pack make happy noses. Erica even screamed _finally._  
Scott and Stiles stood up and the first looked shyly at his friend.

‘Should we hug?’ He asked and Stiles tried to contain his snort.

‘You should never aks me for a hug, dude.’ Stiles said and Scott hugged him with the force of an exited puppy.

~•~•~•~•~  
It was half past nine in the evening and Stiles and Scott were at the first’s home, playing Halo and eating pizza. They heard the door open and close but since Scott didn’t do anything. Stiles knew that it was his dad.

The Sheriff stood in the entrance of the living room, looking at the two teenagers with a relieved smile on his face.

‘Finally.’ Was all the man said and Stiles huffed. Scott smiled and went back to his game. Stiles was sure that if he was a werewolf he could smell the contentness coming off in waves of Scott.

‘There is vegan pizza for you in the oven.’ Stiles told his father and smiled when he heard him groan.

‘He is healthy, you know. If I smelled something I would tell you.’ Scott said, making Stiles snort.

‘He is healthy because I take care of him.’ He said and Scott rolled his eyes.

~•~•~•~•~•~  
Stiles kept turning on is bed. Even though today was a good day, he just couldn’t catch any sleep. There was an itching feeling on his skin, an itch that he couldn’t scratch however he tried.

He sat up with a groan and searched for his phone to check the time.

3.50. There was no chance he could sleep now. He tried calling Scott, but the werewolf didn’t answer. Neither did Isaac or the rest of the pack. Finally, Derek was the one who answered his phone.

‘Derek, something’s wrong.’ He said the same time Derek said ‘It’s a wendigo. We’re coming to you.’ 

Stiles’ breath caught but agreed. Derek hang up and Stiles went to wake up his dad.

‘Dad, we have a situation.’ He said and the Sheriff got up immediately.

‘What’s going on?’ He asked fully awake.

‘The pack’s coming here as we speak. Derek will explain then.’ Stiles explained and John nodded. He looked at his watch and sighed when he saw that it was five minutes to four.

‘I’m going to make some coffee. I don’t suppose we’ll be done fast.’ He said with a tired smile and Stiles gave a small one back.

He went downstairs and waited for the pack to come. Moments later he heard a soft knock on the door and he hurried to open it. At the other side he found Derek holding a clearly wounded Isaac while Boyd was carrying an unconscious Erica. Scott and Jackson were hurt as well but could walk. Boyd had some visible scratches but was fine and Derek had some blood on him but Stiles didn’t know if it was his own. 

‘Did you kill it?’ He asked.

‘You told us not to.’ Isaac said and groaned. Stiles winced and let them enter the house.

‘Just making sure.’ He said and Lydia gave him a small smile.

Boyd put Erica gently on the couch and Isaac sat gingerly next to her.  
The Sheriff came into the living room, opening the lights as he did. The werewolves winced at the sudden brightness but didn’t say anything.

‘What happened?’ He asked alarmed as he took in the scene before him.

‘Wendigo.’ Scott answered.

‘They are real?!’ John yelped and Isaac whimpered, holding his head.

The Sheriff turned to Derek who looked fine but you can never be sure with him.

‘Tell me everything.’ He told the Alpha who nodded.

‘We got attacked by a wendigo.’ Derek answered. They heard a groan and they all looked at the sofa where Erica was moving around. Stiles was by her side in a second while Boyd took her hand to take any pain she was feeling.

‘Do I have to cover another body?’ The Sheriff asked but Derek shook his head.

‘You can’t kill a wendigo.’ Stiles said, making his father sigh.

‘How many are there?’ John asked as he went to the kitchen to get some mugs and coffee. ‘Stiles, come help me.’ Stiles stood up and went to help his father. A few minutes later, every werewolf and human had a hot mug of coffee in their hands.

‘There were two that attacked us. But there could be more.’ Scott answered the Sheriff’s earlier question.

‘Should I inform the deputies to be careful and keep an eye out?’

‘Tell them to keep an eye out for new people and random kidnappings. Let the rest to us.’ Derek said and the Sheriff nodded.

Derek turned to his two wounded Betas.

‘Are you alright?’ He asked Erica and Isaac who nodded. He let out a small sigh in relief.

A lot have changed the last couple months. Allison’s death was at the end of Junior year. In a week it will be the start of Senior year for the entire pack except him. The pack mourned the loss of a pack mate and now that Scott and Stiles were good, the pack will be stronger. 

Derek knew from his mother that a tight pack is a stronger pack. That was never a problem with is old pack. They were family, relatives by blood. This pack was different. Each member came from different worlds.

Jackson and Lydia came from rich families. Erica was sick, Boyd was bullied and alone, Isaac was abused. Scott had asthma.  
Now that Derek thought about it, Stiles hadn’t really change that much. He was still the same nerdy kid who researched and researched until he found what he wanted.

But now, after the Nogitsune, his smell was different. It still had that spicy smell mixed with lemon and cinnamon. Now though, it was like the lemon had gone bad and the spices were on fire. The cinnamon was barely there anymore, replaced by guilt and the saltiness of tears.

Derek shook his head. Stiles was pack and pack tries to make its pack mate feel better. They weren’t related by blood but family don’t end with blood.

He let out a small smile at the quote. Stupid Isaac making him watch all the seasons of Supernatural. 

He looked at his pack. Erica was now sitting, albeit on Boyd’s lap. Isaac was laughing at something Scott had said. He noticed that they were sitting a lot closer than normal friends but he would talk about it with Isaac later. Jackson and Lydia were cuddling on the other couch while the Sheriff was drinking coffee with a thinking expression on. His eyes fell on Stiles and he let out a frown. He saw the black bags under his eyes, smelled the exhaustion rolling off from the boy in waves.

‘You should sleep.’ He said and Stiles looked at him with a scoff.

‘I’m fine, sour wolf.’ The teen said. Derek ignored the nickname and glared.

‘I can smell how tired you are.’ He said and just like that Stiles got up with a groan. Derek got up as well and the human shot him a glare.

‘What? You’re going to tuck me in as well?’ Stiles snapped but Derek ignored him once again. He looked at the Sheriff who gave him a tired smile and a nod.

Once they were at Stiles’ room, Derek sat on the computer chair and looked at Stiles.

‘Dude, I need to change. Give me some space.’ Stiles said and with a scoff, Derek turned around.

‘Why are you annoyed?’ Derek asked him when he finished changing.

‘I’m not annoyed.’ Stiles murmured and laid on his bed.

‘I can smell it on you.’ He said and Stiles sighed.

‘Fuck your werewolf senses.’ He sat up, his covers around his shoulders. ‘Why are you here?’ He asked, starring at the Alpha.

Derek sighed. The rest of the pack had already left and the Sheriff had left for work. Albeit early, it was almost 5 in the morning, Derek was tired and a questioning Stiles wasn’t ideal right now.

‘Why shouldn’t I be here?’ Derek asked and Stiles snorted.

‘I know how this ends. I’m part of the pack, I know. That doesn’t answer my question. Why are YOU here? Scott is my best friend. He could be here instead of you.’ Stiles said.

Derek let out a growl.

‘I’m the Alpha. I take care of the pack.’ Derek answered. ‘If a member of the pack is hurt I take care of them.’

Stiles threw his hands up, his covers falling on the floor in the process.

‘I’m not hurt! Isaac was hurt! Erica was unconscious for fuck’s sake!’ He yelled and Derek winced at the volume. He replayed Stiles’ words in his head and grew angrier every second.

‘You want to know why I’m here?’ He asked and saw Stiles nod. He stood up and paced for a few seconds, trying to find the right words. But his mind to mouth filter wasn’t working right now.

‘Well, so do I because right now I don’t see a reason not to rip your throat out with my teeth!’ He said, voice growing louder with every word and eyes glowing red. He started pacing again.

‘You drive me crazy but I don’t do anything because you are pack. As much as it annoys me you are family and I can’t do anything about that.’ He ran his fingers through his hair, willing his breathing to slow down.

‘I’m not your family.’ Stiles whispered and Derek only heard him because he was a werewolf.

‘Family don’t end with blood.’ Derek answered but Stiles didn’t smile.

‘I don’t need your help.’ Stiles said and Derek growled.

‘Why? Are you so strong a person you don’t need someone to help you? You are human! You are so painfully human! You can’t heal, you can’t run fast enough. That’s why the Nogitsune picked you. It was either you or Allison. But Allison was a hunter. She knew how to take care of herself. You didn’t. You still don’t.’ Derek breathed deeply. He caught the smell of tears and his gaze fell on Stiles’ face where silent tears were running down his face, wild and unstoppable.

‘So, you’re saying that being possessed by the Nogitsune was my fault.’ Stiles nodded and let out a bitter smile. 

‘No.’ Derek shook his head, voice raspy from yelling.

‘Then what are you saying, Derek!?’ Stiles screamed. ‘What should I have done? Yes, I am human. I’m a human that runs with wolves. Do you have any idea how difficult that is!?’ He asked and Derek didn’t. He stayed silent.

‘Do you?’ He asked again, voice breaking at the end and Derek shook his head.

‘I’m just doing the research. I can’t come with you on fights because even a push can kill me. I always stay behind but I don’t complain because I don’t deserve to complain. I’m just an ordinary thing surrounded by wonders.’ He said, breaths coming out irregular as he was breathing in hungrily. His heart beat had skyrocketed and Derek moved closer to the bed.

‘I c-can’t b-breath.’ Stiles stuttered and immediately Derek was on Alpha mode.

‘Is this a panic attack?’ He asked, voice calm and reassuring. Stiles gave a small nod. Derek moved in front of him, taking one of his hands and putting it on his chest, right on top of his heart.

‘Just copy my breathing, Stiles. It’s going to be alright.’ Derek said, breathing long, deep breaths. 

‘I-I c-can’t.’ Wheezed Stiles, fresh tears running down his face. Derek growled. 

‘Yes, you can! It’s not hard. Come on Stiles. In through your nose, out through your mouth.’ Derek instructed. 

They continued doing it for what felt like hours, but were only minutes. Finally, Stiles’ heart was beating at a normal speed and his breathing was close to regular. Derek removed their hands from his chest, but he kept on holding on Stiles’ hand.

‘Are you alright?’ He asked.

Stiles nodded. ‘Thanks.’ He said, voice in a whisper and Derek felt his throat close.

‘I’m sorry.’ Said Derek, but Stiles shook his head. 

‘It’s not your fault. I was an idiot.’ He said and ran his hand down his face, wiping away his tears.

Derek let go of his hand, ignoring the sudden coldness on his palm and shifted away from the teen. As he was ready to stand up, he felt a hand on the sleeve of his shirt.

He looked at Stiles who was looking everywhere but him. 

‘Can you stay with me?’ The teen asked and blood rushed to his face. ‘I usually get nightmares after panic attacks and the last time you stayed over I slept like a log, so yeah.’ He hurried to add and Derek fought to hide his smile.

‘Alright.’ Derek answered and Stiles sighed in relief. With a nod, he let go of the sleeve and gestured towards some drawers.

‘You can borrow some sweats and a shirt if you want. There are some that are big for me so, they’ll might be your size.’ He said and Derek nodded once again. 

He found a pair of sweats and a T-shirt that Stiles would be swimming in if he wore them and went to the bathroom to change. 

When he returned, Stiles was under the now retrieved covers. He let out a small smile and went to sit on the chair.

‘You can sleep here, you know.’ His eyes fell on Stiles who was looking at him. ‘Sleeping on a chair can’t be comfortable.’ He said and Derek shrugged.

‘I had worse.’ He murmured.

‘Still.’ Stiles patted the space beside him and Derek stood up with a sigh.

He carefully laid next to the teen, leaving as big as a space he could master between them and finally allowed his eyes to close.

‘Goodnight.’ He heard Stiles whisper.

‘Goodnight, Stiles.’ He said back, but Stiles was already asleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Derek woke up, for the first time in months, in a good mood. He was warm and he soon realized that was because he was spooning Stiles. 

He had his right arm around Stiles’ abdomen while the younger boy was using his shoulder as a pillow. His left foot was between Stiles’ feet and his face was nested on the boy’s neck.

Derek stayed lying there, panicking at the situating and then scowling at himself for panicking. They didn’t do anything bad. Pack cuddles all the time. It’s what a tight pack does. Stiles wasn’t someone different. Stiles wasn’t someone special. Maybe if he kept saying that it could become true.

Derek stayed lying there for a few more minutes until Stiles started waking up himself. He stirred for a few seconds and then stilled completely.

‘Derek?’ He asked in a whisper and the air filled with the bitter smell of fear. Derek tightened his grip on Stiles’ abdomen.

‘I’m here.’ Derek assured him, but Stiles didn’t relax.

‘Am I dreaming?’ He asked again and Derek understood.

‘Count my fingers, Stiles.’ It wasn’t an order, but Stiles followed it as if it was one.

Derek felt Stile’s fingertips on his own, heard the faint whispers of the numbers as Stiles was counting his fingers and finally, finally, Stiles relaxed.

The air filled with the sweet smell of relief and Derek withdrew his arm. He immediately felt cold but ignored it when Stiles quickly sat up.

‘What day is it?’ Derek searched for the answer in his mind.

‘Monday.’ He answered and Stiles swore.

‘What time is it?’ Stiles asked, already dressing up.

‘It’s 5 to 10.’ Derek answered and Stiles swore again.

‘Come on.’ Stiles picked is phone up and pressed it to his ear, pacing his room.

Derek heard the Sheriff’s voice in the phone a few seconds later.

‘Stiles, I’m busy, - ‘Stiles cut his father.

‘Dad, my examination is in half an hour and you are not here.’ Stiles almost screamed and Derek sat up.

The Sheriff swore and sighed.

‘Stiles, I can’t come. There was a robbery downtown earlier tonight and there was a casualty.’ Stiles made a chocked up noise. ‘I’m sorry son, I really am.’ Derek could hear how sorry John was, but that clearly wasn’t enough for Stiles.’ The boy whipped at his eyes and nodded.

‘Okay, dad.’ He said, but clearly it wasn’t okay.

‘I love you, Stiles.’ The Sheriff said and Stiles sighed.

‘Love you too, dad.’ Stiles said and hanged up. The boy sighed again and let out a soft swear. He let his phone fall on his desk as he sat on the chair.

‘What’s wrong?’ Derek asked and Stiles looked at him with clouded eyes.

‘Dad’s not going to make it to my examination.’ Stiles murmured.

‘What examination?’ Stiles didn’t smell sick, he wasn’t hurt. Derek was confused and suddenly afraid.

‘My annual check-up. They have to take some blood and such.’ Stiles answered and Derek sighed in relief.

‘What’s so bad about them taking some blood?’ Derek wondered and Stiles looked down. ‘You’re not afraid of needles, are you?’ Derek joked but Stiles didn’t smile or laugh.

‘You are, aren’t you?’ Derek asked and Stiles shrugged.

‘I usually get panic attacks but my dad is always there to calm me down.’ Stiles said and Derek wanted to ask; why are you getting panic attacks over a needle? but Stiles was done talking.

‘I can come with you.’ Derek offered with a shrug and Stiles looked at him shocked.

‘Really?’ Stiles didn’t object or said that he didn’t need any help. Derek felt his throat close at the hope in Stiles eyes.

He managed to give a nod.

Stiles relaxed and stood up. He picked his phone, checked the time and then put it inside his pocket.

‘My appointment is at 10:30. It’s already 10:15. The doctor’s office is a ten-minute walk, eight if we walk fast.’ He looked at Derek and groaned.

‘You are still wearing sweats.’ Derek looked down at himself and shrugged.

‘I’m okay.’ Derek assured him and Stiles nodded.

‘Okay. Good. Can we leave now?’ Derek stood up and put on his shoes.

‘Let’s go.’ Stiles said and they left.

They got at the doctor’s office five minutes before the appointment. Stiles was out of breath and panting, but Derek was his usual self, but different.

Stiles looked at him, really looked at him for a second. He was like a different person without his black jeans and black leather jacket. Now, he was dressed with grey sweats and a dark red shirt. It was so out of the ordinary and Stiles likes it.

‘Stiles!’ Stiles turned around and gave a small, tight smile at a nurse. ‘Where’s your father?’ She asked, looking around, her bid smile never leaving her face.

‘He couldn’t come. Sheriff stuff.’ Stiles answered and she winced like she knew, which, Derek thought, she probably did.

‘And who’s this handsome man young man with you.’ She turned to Derek and Stiles closed his eyes waiting for the explosion.  
Derek scoffed at that, but smiled at the lady.

‘I’m Derek Hale. I’m here with Stiles since his father couldn’t come.’ He introduced himself and the nurse’s smile fell, if only a little.

‘I’m sorry to hear about your sister, dear.’ She said and Derek wanted the floor to crack and make her disappear. Or make himself disappear. He wasn’t picky.

‘A tragic event, really.’ She added. Derek felt a hand on his elbow and remembered why he was here in the first place.

‘It was really tragic, yes.’ Stiles agreed. ‘I would like to stay and chat, but I have an appointment to get to.’ He gave her a tight smile and she snapped out of it.

‘Oh yes!’ She clapped her hands, more excited that necessary and pointed to a room behind here. ‘Go in there and the doctor will be with you in about 15 minutes.’ She smiled at them once again and left.

Stiles and Derek went into the room the nurse pointed to, Derek scrunching his nose at the smell of blood mixed with medicine and sickness. Stiles sat on the bed and Derek stood by his side.

In these few seconds, Stiles’ heart beat had managed to become uneven, while the boy was fidgeting.

‘What does your father do to calm you down?’ Derek asked and Stiles took a deep breath before answering.

‘He usually talks about things.’ He said. ‘He asks questions excepting me to answer.’

‘So, you talk.’ Derek nodded. ‘That doesn’t surprise me at all.’ Stiles gave a small smile.

Derek thought for a few seconds. He wasn’t really a talkative person. That was always Stiles. He was the one to nod to show his agreement and the one to growl to show his disagreement. But now, he had to talk because one of his pack, a member of his family needed him to.

‘I like music.’ He suddenly said and winced at the lack of his statement.

Stiles nodded but didn’t say anything, his mind elsewhere.

Derek sighed. ‘What music do you like?’ He asked awkwardly. Stiles gave him a shrug but Derek pressed on.

‘Come on, Stiles. You need to answer.’ Derek touched his wrist and let his hand stay there when he felt Stiles calming down.

‘Anything. If I like the lyrics, then I will listen to it.’ Stiles answered and Derek nodded, pleased.

‘So, everything except pop.’ Derek joked and Stiles chuckled.

‘Pretty much.’ Stiles agreed.  
‘Favorite bands?’ Derek asked next and Stiles thought about it and shrugged.

‘Too many.’ He said. ‘You probably haven’t heard half of them.’

‘Try me.’ Derek shrugged, making Stiles smile.

‘My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Our Last Night.’ Stiles listed and by the time he was done he had listed over ten bands.

‘I only know My Chemical Romance.’ Derek admitted and Stiles faked gasped.

‘Travesty!’ He yelped, his earlier panic now forgotten. ‘I should educate you in the wonder that is All Time Low music like right now.’ Stiles said and Derek felt his lips inch up.

‘Maybe later.’ He said and Stiles beamed at him.

Was he flirting? Was he really flirting with a member of his pack? With Stiles? Had Stiles noticed? Was he bothered? Derek shook his head as the doctor walked in. Instead, he focused on Stiles who had started panicking again.

‘Hello Stiles.’ The doctor said and shook the boy’s hand. ‘Your father’s at work?’ He asked.

Stiles nodded and Derek took over.

‘I’m filling in for the Sheriff.’ Derek shook the doctor’s hand. ‘Derek Hale.’ He introduced himself. He saw that the doctor opened his mouth to say something but chose against it. Derek was thankful for it.

Derek took Stiles’ hand and the boy gave him a thankful, if not embarrassed smile. The doctor took the syringe and by now Stiles’ breaths were coming out uneven and too loud for it to be considered normal.

‘Tell me about your favorite All Time Low song.’ Derek said. He winced at the way he said it, making it sound more of an order than an offer, but Stiles nodded.

‘It’s probably Therapy.’ Stiles muttered and Derek squeezed his hand for him to keep going. ‘It’s about how sometimes when you’re feeling depressed you don’t need therapy. You only need a hug from your family and friends.’ Derek knew there was a deeper meaning there but now wasn’t the time. He saw the doctor come their way and heard Stiles’ breath skyrocketing.

‘Look at me, Stiles.’ He took a few seconds but he did as he was told.

Derek then found himself doing something he never thought he would do around Stiles. He started talking about himself.

‘My favorite band is Breaking Benjamin.’ He said a little awkwardly, but Stiles was looking at him and the doctor was coming closer and he couldn’t stop now.

‘They are a rock band but they are different.’ From the corner of his eye he saw the doctor injecting the needle into Stiles’ vein and he kept talking. ‘I used to sing their songs to Laura when we were in New York. Our favorite song was Dear Agony. Probably because of our past.’ He let out a bitter chuckle.

‘We’re done.’ The doctor said and wrote something on his notebook. ‘The results will be ready this Wednesday.’ He told Derek who nodded. 

Stiles was still looking at him and Derek shifted on his feet.

‘What?’ He asked and Stiles shook his head, snapping out of it.

‘It’s the most I’ve heard you talk since last night.’ He said with a small smile and looked down.

Derek found himself smiling and nudged Stiles to stand up.

‘We should go.’ He said and the boy nodded. As they got outside, Derek noticed that Stiles was fidgeting and was smelling nervous once again.

‘What’s wrong?’ Derek asked him, but Stiles shrugged.

‘It’s no big deal.’ He said and Derek let it go. 

They were almost at Stiles’ house when Derek had had enough. All this time, Stiles’ fidgeting had gone worse and he would look at Derek, open his mouth and quickly close it to look down again.

Derek fought back a growl but he couldn’t stop himself from snapping at the teenager.

‘Okay, what’s wrong!? You keep sending me looks but you don’t say anything!’ He said, making Stiles wince.

‘It’s nothing.’ Stiles said, but Derek was a werewolf and could hear Stiles lying.

‘Bullshit, Stiles.’ Derek said and Stiles stopped walking.

‘It’s just that,’ Stiles scratched the back of his neck. ‘whenever I have an appointment, dad and I go for ice-cream afterwards.’ 

Derek visibly relaxed. ‘That’s all? I thought it was something serious.’ He sighed and Stiles scoffed.

‘Well, excuse you, but it’s been a tradition for years.’ He said and started walking again.

Derek smiled, knowing that Stiles wasn’t really angry with him.

‘I can take you for ice-cream.’ Derek said and Stiles looked at him. He had an expression on Derek couldn’t really deter, but it looked good on him.

‘You don’t have to.’ Stiles said but the werewolf shrugged.

‘It’s been forever since I’ve had ice-cream.’ Derek said and Stiles looked down, a small and private smile decorating his face.

‘There’s a part with an ice-cream stand two blocks down.’ Derek said a few seconds later and the teenager nodded.

They walked in silence till they reached the park. They weren’t the only people there but there weren’t many people there, either. Moms with their children, people with their dogs and old couples having their daily walks. They walked towards the ice-cream stand, Derek taking his wallet out in the process.

‘You really don’t have to, you know.’ Stiles tried once again.

‘It’s really not a big deal.’ He continued, but all Derek did was turn to the man in front of him.

‘Two scoops of vanilla and one chocolate.’ He made his order and then turned to Stiles.

‘One chocolate, Bueno and vanilla.’ He said with a defeated sigh. Derek smirked.

‘7 dollars.’ Said the man. Derek gave him a ten and told him to keep the money. He gave the ice-cream to Stiles who took his own and walked away, silent, his smirk never leaving his face.

‘What did you get?’ Stiles asked awkwardly.

Derek showed him his already half eaten ice-cream.

‘I’ve never thought you’d be one for the simple things.’ Stiles hummed.

Derek scoffed but didn’t comment. They walked in silence for a while until they found a bench to sit.

Stiles finished his ice-cream and placed the container by his side.

‘You can ask you know.’ Stiles said, trying to play it cool but he didn’t really succeed. Derek could smell his nervousness. 

‘It’s none of my business.’ Derek shrugged and Stiles fell silent. As nice as it was, Derek knew that Stiles would talk soon.

‘It’s because of my mother.’ Stiles started and Derek turned to him. Stiles wasn’t looking at him, but he wasn’t looking down either. His gaze was far away, empty. His eyes were clouded, whiskey brown just visible enough to see. It was like before. After Stiles was freed from the Nogitsune. It was familiar. But it was a scary familiar.

‘When my mother was in the hospital, there were tubes and needles coming out from every visible inch of her body.’ His voice broke at the last word.

Derek put his hand on his shoulder.

Stiles didn’t smile.

‘I was small when she died. Nine years old. I was with her when it happened. She turned her head towards me and smiled. But I didn’t see her smile. All I saw was the needles and tubes cleaning her blood, giving her vitamins…’ He shook his head, snapping out of it.  
‘There you have it.’ He said in a raspy voice and Derek patted his shoulder before taking his hand away.

They stayed silent after that. Occasionally, Stiles would let out a small sniff, but other than that he was fine.

Derek was fighting with himself. Stiles shared a pretty part of himself. Should he share something as well? He let out a sigh and cleared his throat.

‘After the fire.’ He started and Stiles looked at him shocked. Derek closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

‘After the fire.’ He started again. ‘I had this fear of fire. I couldn’t even go near a candle.’ He let out a bitter chuckle. ‘Laura used to laugh at me, but I knew she was scared as well. But she was an Alpha. Alpha’s aren’t supposed to be scared. They’re supposed to be strong for themselves and the members of their packs.’ Derek said and now it was Stiles’ turn to put his hand on the Alpha’s shoulder.

‘You’re not invincible you know. You are allowed to feel like crap or to be hurt.’ He said and Derek looked down trying to hide his smile.

‘Are you done?’ Derek asked a few minutes later. By now, the park was full of people and it was driving is wolf crazy. All those new smells and noises were hard to keep track to and he had to focus on Stiles and will his already growing headache to go away.

‘Your wolf’s getting annoyed?’

‘How do you know?’

‘After Scott was bitten, we couldn’t stay in crowded places for long. I gathered it was his wolf getting annoyed by the noise.’ Stiles shrugged.

‘And the smell.’ Derek added.

‘Can you smell everything?’ Stiles asked with the wonder of a kid who was promised the whole universe.

‘I can smell enough.’ Derek answered and looked around, sniffing. ‘I know that this guy had tacos for breakfast,’ Stiles scrunched up his nose in disgust. ‘and I can smell how this couple had a very nice wake up.’ He said and Stiles laughed.

‘Oh man.’ His shoulders shook with silent giggles. ‘Living with Erica and Boyd must be a torture.’ Derek shrugged.

‘You get used to it after the seventh time.’ Stiles chuckled.

‘I never want to be a werewolf.’

Suddenly all the joking and fun were gone and seriousness took their place.

‘I’ll never turn you into a werewolf if you don’t want me to.’ It wasn’t just a statement. It was a promise. 

Stiles hummed in return but soon stopped. He turned to his Alpha with an air of seriousness Derek couldn’t really place and he wasn’t really sure he liked.

‘If I was dying,’ He started and Derek’s wolf growled at the thought. ‘would you turn me in order to live?’

‘I would try to find another way. I would only bite you if it was the only thing left to do.’

Stiles nodded. ‘Thanks.’ He said sincerely.

Derek nodded but didn’t say anything back.

‘Let’s go back to your house.’ Derek said a few seconds later. They were silent as they walked and minutes later they were outside Stiles’ home.

The boy shifted on his feet awkwardly before looking at Derek. It was weird. He was looking at him, but he wasn’t really looking either. 

‘What?’ Derek asked.

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck. ‘It’s almost time for lunch.’ He started and blushed at Derek’s confused face. ‘Would you like to stay for lunch?’ He rushed out, embarrassed.

Derek smiled at the teenager but then winced.

‘I promised Isaac we would have lunch today.’ He said, his voice apologetic.

Stiles gave a nod, just a slight tilt of his head and Derek knew that it was okay.

Then Stiles smiled. It was a big smile, showing teeth and the sun was falling into Stiles’ eyes making them that light brown, like liquid gold.

‘You’re a good Alpha.’ Stiles commented and Derek should really control his wolf better because right now it was barking and panting happily inside his head.

‘It’s movie night tomorrow.’

‘I’ll be there.’ Stiles said and with a last smile he entered his house leaving his Alpha outside. The wolf was whining and barking, making Derek frown.

‘Get it together.’ He scowled and went into the woods. He needed to run. He needed to let is wolf out, to let his frustration out.  
He transformed, stepping out of his now useless clothes and shoes. He placed his clothes beside a tree, hidden for people and other animals. He would come back for them later.

Then, he ran. He savored the feeling of the earth on his paws. He savored the scent of leaves and plants, the way he knew were to bend or when to turn or when to jump. That was where he belonged, where he felt at home, one with his wolf. 

His eyes bled red when he saw the pack’s house. He could hear Isaac’s heart beat and smell the earthy with a touch of rain, smell of his first Beta.

He scratched at the door and let out a bark and seconds later Isaac opened the door. He saw his Alpha with his tongue out and rolled his eyes before stepping back to let the wolf get in.

Derek transformed back into his human self, shaking his head with a fond smile when Isaac yelped and covered his eyes.

‘Boundaries, Derek!’ The Beta yelled, his eyes still covered. ‘There are some things I don’t need to know about you.’ He said, his voice close to a whine.

Derek rolled his eyes. ‘You’ll get used to it.’ He went into is room and out on clean clothes before going back into the living room.

‘Are you ready to go?’ He asked Isaac who nodded.

They headed out and took the Camaro to go to a small dinner near the school. They have been there so many times as a pack but as individuals as well that the owners knew their orders by heart.

Derek and Isaac entered and the restaurant and went straight to the usual table, back into the room, by the windows.

Seconds later a waitress by the name of Jenna was there, filling their glasses with water and taking out a notebook and a pen.

‘Hello.’ She smiles at them. ‘The usual?’

They nodded and she left.

‘How are you?’ Derek asked his Beta. It was still kind of awkward for him to make small talk but he was getting better at it.  
Isaac shrugged. He wasn’t used on talking about his feelings but he was getting better at it. ‘I’m good.’

‘You had a nightmare a couple of nights ago.’ It wasn’t a question. It was an observation. An observation Isaac neither denied nor confirmed.

Derek let out a sigh. ‘What was it about?’

‘The usual.’

They had a system. _The usual_ meant his father. _Nothing_ meant Allison’s death and many variations having several pack members in her place. A shrug meant abandonment.

Derek had learnt how to deal with all three. He still wasn’t perfect but he was trying and he was getting better at it.

They food came and they focused on consuming it.

‘I’ve noticed you and Scott spend a lot of time together later.’ Derek said after swallowing a bite of his burger. Stiles had insisted on coming here when the pack was out for dinner or lunch because; **“It has the best curly fries, sourwolf! It would be a crime not to go there!”**

Isaac took a moment to answer.

‘We’re friends.’

Derek hummed around a mouthful of curly fries and put his hands up in surrender when Isaac glared at him.

His Beta suddenly smiled and Derek knew by experience from running with teenagers, that was never good.

‘You didn’t come home last night.’ Isaac said and took a bite of his burger.

‘I didn’t.’

‘Where were you last night?’ 

‘I slept at Stiles.’ Derek said and Isaac grinned. Derek felt himself blush and Isaac’s grin became bigger.

‘So, tell me about Scott.’ Derek returned the favor and Isaac almost chocked on his fries.

‘There’s nothing to say.’ He said with a cough and Derek didn’t press.

‘I won’t ask you about it only if you don’t ask about Stiles again.’

‘But that’s no fun!’ Isaac whined.

Derek shrugged. ‘I don’t care. But really, if you want to be a blushing teenager whenever I mention Scott, then be my guest.’ He winked and Isaac gaped at him.

‘You are evil.’ He glared and Derek smirked.

They finished their lunch in silence, except from the occasional joke from Isaac and the small snort of Derek.

‘Have you seen anything weird?’ Derek asked his Beta when they entered the Camaro to go back to the house.

Isaac shook his head. ‘It’s been normal.’

‘Almost too normal.’ Muttered Derek. Isaac gave his Alpha a gentle smile in return.

‘We’re going to be fine.’ Isaac said with such conviction in his voice, Derek almost believed him. ‘What’s a few wendigos against an Alpha pack, anyway?’

Derek chuckled but he didn’t really mean it.

___________________.____________________________.___________________  
Senior year was officially here. There was no turning back now. One more year and they will be off to college. Hopefully, they’ll be back.  
The pack, minus Derek, stood before the high school gates. They had a sleepover last night where Derek had given them a talk. He was Isaac, Erica and Boyd’s legal guardian after all.

‘It will be different without Alisson this year.’ Scott commented and Isaac patted him on the shoulder.

Stiles sighed. He wanted to say ‘sorry’ but what would a ‘sorry’ accomplish? Scott and the rest of the pack ad made it clear that it wasn’t his fault.

The first bell rang and they rushed inside. First rule by Derek; Don’t be late.

Stiles had first period with Scott and Boyd. It was Chemistry, which was cruel. Thankfully, Harris wasn’t the teacher anymore since he was dead.

Stiles wasn’t sure if that made him a bad person, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel bad about it. He had asked Derek about it and the Alpha had said that it was normal.

It was normal.

It was human to feel relieved when someone that made your life a living hell was no longer in the picture.

The first period passes fast enough that Stiles didn’t have any time to whine about it.

‘Something’s wrong.’ Scott frowned and a few seconds later and angry Erica came their way, followed by a slightly less angry Lydia and a silent Isaac.

‘What happened?’ Scott asked concerned.

Erica growled and for a second her eyes flashed yellow. Boyd was at her side in a second, trying to calm her down.

‘There’s a new student.’ Lydia started with a roll of her eyes, but it was clear that she was annoyed.

Isaac was still silent.

‘He’s an asshole.’ Erica snarled.

Lydia nodded. ‘Can’t argue with that.’

‘What did he do?’ Asked Stiles and for a second, Isaac’s shoulder’s tensed up.

‘He was making these comments about us. I couldn’t hear what they were since I’m not a wolf, but from what Erica told me, his main focus was goldy locks here.’ Lydia pointed at Isaac who for the first time in those minutes, looked at them.

‘Well, I have English with goldy locks now, so I’ll tell you if this guy’s still talking crap about you.’ Stiles said and Isaac looked at him thankful.

The bell rang.

Stiles and Isaac rushed to their class which was at the other side of the school.

‘But you won’t hear him!’ Scott yelled at him.

‘I’ll find a way!’ He yelled back.

They entered the class and Stiles sighed in relief when he saw two desks side by side. They sat down and he leaned towards Isaac.  
‘Is he here?’

Isaac nodded towards the back of the room and Stiles, as subtle as he could, which wasn’t enough, looked back at a guy he had never seen before. He was a good-looking guy with an aura of innocence around him.

‘Is he a wolf?’

Isaac shook his head. ‘He doesn’t smell like one.’

‘Clearly, he knows about you guys or else he wouldn’t whisper.’ Stiles said.

‘Should we tell Derek?’ Stiles gaped at the Beta.

‘Of course we’ll tell Derek!’ He yelled and winced.

He smiled sheepishly at the teacher and leaned towards Isaac again.

‘Of course we’ll tell Derek.’ He hissed. ‘He’s our Alpha. He should know this stuff.’

Isaac let out a sigh and nodded.

Stiles gave him a small smile. ‘Just let me know if he makes any more comments.’

‘Yes, mom.’ Isaac rolled his eyes and Stiles punched his shoulder.

The period passed without any incident, but Stiles was still wary. He could feel someone watching every move he made and he was sure it was the new kid.

Ten minutes before the bell rang, Isaac tensed up. Stiles sent him a concerned look, but the Beta didn’t meet his eyes.

‘What is he saying now?’ Stiles asked him, but Isaac shook his head.

‘Isaac.’ He pressed, making the boy sigh.

‘He’s talking about you.’ 

‘What the fuck does he know about me? I’m not a wolf.’

‘He knows about the Nogitsune.’

Stiles paled.

‘What.’ He whispered.

Thankfully, the bell rang a few seconds later. Stiles stood up silently, packing his things with Isaac standing by his side, watching him, concerned.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Hmm?’

‘Stiles.’ Isaac said. ‘Are you alright?’

‘I’m fine.’ Stiles knew that Isaac could hear his lie, but he didn’t care.

They walked to their lockers. Stiles had Econ now with Scott and Jackson and then he was done for the day. The joy of having top grades in his Junior year.

Stiles opened his locker and a not fell out. He quickly picked it up and stuffed it inside his bag. He, somehow, knew from who it was and he didn’t want to deal with it now.

With a sigh, he took his Econ book and notebook and went to find the rest of the pack. He found them all gathered at Erica’s locker and they all looked angry, even Jackson.

He suddenly felt sad. Lydia had Jackson. Boyd had Erica. Hell, there was something going on with Scott and Isaac. Who did he have?

He walked towards his friends, Scott smiling at him and putting his arm around his shoulders.

‘Hey.’ Scott looked so much like a puppy, his heart ached.

He nodded and let out a small hey himself.

‘Are you alright?’ Lydia asked him, concern evident in her voice and he hated it. 

He hated all of this concern aimed at him. All of this concern he wasn’t sure he deserved. 

He put on a fake smile. ‘I’m fine. Why wouldn’t I be? It’s senior year and I have one more class and I’m done for the day.’

They all sent him concerned looks, even Jackson(!), but he ignored them.

The bell rang before they could say anything.

He walked to Econ, Scott and Jackson trailing behind him, no doubt smelling him and listening to his heart-beat.

Coach was already inside and let out a groan when he saw Stiles.

‘Great. Bilinski’s with us once again.’

‘Always a pleasure, coach.’ He nodded and sat down. Immediately, Scott and Jackson were sitting at his sides, the later not looking very happy about it.

‘I’m going to Derek after school.’ He said and Scott let out a sigh of relief.

‘Good. I’ll go there when I finish with school as well.’ Stiles nodded and focused on what the coach was saying.

He knew that Scott was talking about him with Jackson, if the random huffs the Beta was letting out were anything to go by, but it was too quiet for him human ears to make out what the two werewolves were saying  
.  
~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
Stiles parked outside Derek’s house, probably more excited than he should. He fell out of his car because, apparently, running with wolves didn’t help his uncoordinated feet.

He entered the house, using his key, because, apparently, being in a pack meant having the key to the pack house.

He found Derek in the living room, watching TV. The Alpha was clearly waiting for him to get in and wasn’t paying attention to the program on the TV, if the cooking show that was on was anything to go by.

‘Hi.’

‘Why aren’t you in school?’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘Hi, to you too, Stiles. It’s good to see you.’ Derek’s glare made him stop. ‘I only had three periods today. The perks of having the credits to graduate early, I guess.’ He shrugged, somewhat shy.

Derek relaxed and patted the space beside him. Stiles smiled and sat down next to his Alpha.

‘How was your first day?’ Derek asked awkwardly and Stiles smiled.

‘It was good, boring. New students, new teachers. Same old, same old.’ He said with a sigh. Derek nodded and fell silent.

It wasn’t an uncomfortable silent and Stiles was happy to just watch TV with the Alpha. Some guy, he had never heard of before, was cooking steak and was doing everything wrong.

‘Can you please change the channel? This guy’s making me want to puke.’ Stiles complained and Derek closed the TV a little too eagerly, instead. 

‘Thank God.’ The Alpha sighed in relief. ‘He was making wolfsbane consumption seem like a better thing than eating that steak of his.’  
Stiles was shocked for a few seconds but then he started laughing so hard he choked on his spit.

‘That was amazing.’ He wheezed and even Derek gave a small smile.

‘It wasn’t that funny.’

Stiles smiled at him. ‘It really wasn’t.’ He agreed and Derek raised an eyebrow.

‘You almost choked.’ He deadpanned, making Stiles blush.

‘It was the first time I’ve heard you joke!’ Stiles defended. ‘I wasn’t prepared.’

Derek looked down, his ears a faint pink.

Stiles smiled and cleared his throat.

‘How about I introduce you to the wonders that is All Time Low music?’

Derek shrugged. ‘Sure.’ Stiles beamed at him.

Derek tried to hide his smile as he moved to get his laptop, but Stiles caught it.

Stiles took the offered laptop with a smile. ‘So, Therapy is my favorite song of theirs.’ He said and shoved the laptop to Derek as the music started playing.

Derek grew engrossed to the song as the singer started singing.

Stiles’ eyes were focused on Derek’s face, seeing the emotion in his eyes as every lyric traveled around him.

When the song ended, Derek let out a sigh and shook his head. He didn’t give the laptop back to Stiles, but the boy didn’t care.

‘Good?’

Derek hummed in agreement.

‘Another one?’ Derek asked and he was shy and Stiles grinned. He took the laptop and gave it back a few seconds later.

A song started, but it was a video clip this time.

‘That’s them?’

Stiles nodded.

‘Zombies.’ Derek deadpanned a minute later.

Stiles shrugged. ‘Why not.’

‘It was good.’ Derek commented. ‘Not like the previous one.’ He added.

The next two hours passed like that. Stiles introduced Derek to all his favorite songs and surprisingly, Derek liked most of them.

He didn’t exactly say that he liked them, but Stiles was sure.

‘Scott and Isaac are here.’ Derek suddenly said and Stiles stood up.

‘I just remembered I have to go home.’ He said.

‘Is everything alright?’

‘Everything’s fine. I just have homework for tomorrow and I’d like to get it done.’ He said, making Derek frown at the obvious lie.

Usually, Stiles was a good liar. His heart would never skip a beat and he wouldn’t have the smell of nervousness. That smell of wet wood mixed with bad cheese that made Derek’s eyes water when he smelled too much of it.

He nodded.

Stiles picked up his bag just as Scott and Isaac entered the house. He pushed past them, muttering a quick hello and goodbye, leaving the two werewolves confused.

‘Is something wrong?’ Scott asked, but all Derek did was shrug.

‘He said that he had homework.’

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~  
Hours later, Stiles was getting ready for bed when he heard his bedroom window opening.

He let out a sigh. He had gone way past the time when he used to be startled or even scared. Now, it was an everyday thing.

‘You can use the front door you know. My dad won’t shoot you.’ He could feel Derek’s glare and he sighed again before turning to see his Alpha.

‘What?’ He asked, suddenly tired.

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’

Stiles shrugged. ‘It wasn’t my place to tell.’

Derek growled. ‘Really? Because Isaac told me that there were comments about you as well.’

‘It didn’t bother me.’ Derek snored and Stiles’ eyes hardened.

‘I’ve been through hell. A small comment about the Nogitsune won’t kill me.’ Derek ignored him and picked the folded not up.

‘What’s this?’

‘Nothing.’ Stiles said, trying to take the note, but Derek was a werewolf and an Alpha, nonetheless, so the only thing he succeeded was to fall on his bed with a pained huff.

Derek gave the note a brief read before putting it inside his pocket.

‘Hey, that’s mi- ‘

‘Have you read it?’ Derek cut him.

Stiles frowned.’ Well, no.’ Derek opened the window, his left foot already outside. ‘But I was going to!’ He yelled, but Derek had already disappeared.

‘Freaking werewolves.’ He said before letting the sweet angel of sleep embrace him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, guys! Like I said before, don't expect the updates to be fast. If everything goes according to plan, you'll have a new chapter once a month.  
> I would like to clarify, I don't own anything except the plot and some OCs. Every character belongs to Jeff.  
> In addition, I would like to add that this story doesn't follow anything canon after season 3.  
> So, don't get confuse if you read something that didn't happen on the series.  
> For example, we know that Stiles' mother is part Polish. I added something more in that.  
> Last but not least, I decided that I would add more tags in a every chapter's notes as to not give away any spoilers.  
> That's all! Happy reading!

And _all the kids cried out “please stop, you’re scaring me.” I can’t help this awful energy. God damn right, you should be scared of me._

Music. He was hearing music. A song. He knew this song. Erica was obsessed with it. Something about a bipolar girl battling her demons. But, why was he hearing it now?

He heard a laugh. He knew that laugh. How could he not, when it was his own laugh? He looked around. He was at the Nemeton.

He blinked and suddenly Scott was in front of him. He wanted to yell, to warn Scott to get away from him, because he knew. He could feel it. The Nogitsune was back and he was trapped inside his own body once again.

He opened his mouth to yell, but the only sound that came out was a cold laugh. His hand moved towards Scott’s chest, but it wasn’t him who was moving his hand.

Long, slim fingers grabbed Scott’s shirt and the boy let out a gasp.

‘Stiles.’ He said and the Nogitsune laughed.

‘Not anymore.’ Scott’s eyes widened as he tried to move away, but the Nogitsune’s hold was too strong. Stiles wanted to scream, to run away, but he knew it was useless.

‘You know; Allison’s death is on you.’ He saw his friend’s eyes filling with tears and he trashed harder inside his mind. ‘She’s dead because of you. You could have been faster.’ His nails started to rip flesh and he grinned at the sight of blood running now his fingertips.

‘Stiles, this isn’t you.’

The Nogitsune laughed while Stiles was crying inside his head for him to stop. ‘Oh, it is now.’ With an animalistic smirk, he yanked his arm back, holding Scott’s heart on his hand as the teenager fell down on the forest floor, his heart falling next to him seconds later.

‘One down, seven to go.’ The Nogitsune smiled and wiped his bloody hand on his jeans.

Stiles blinked and suddenly he was in front of his father.

‘No.’ Stiles pleaded, fresh tears running down his face. ‘Please, don’t.’ But, the Nogitsune didn’t stop.

‘You’re not my son.’ The Sheriff said and even though it was true, it still hurt.

The Nogitsune tilted his head to the side, a thoughtful look on his face.

‘You wound me father.’ His voice came out, mockingly hurt. ‘You know I’ve not being the same since mom died.’ His father’s eyes filled with pain that broke Stiles’ heart. He wanted to get out. He wanted to get out of his own head, his own body and hug his father. He would rip his own body apart if he had to.

Suddenly, he heard a groan of pain and Stiles looked at his hands only to find them coated with blood and his father dead on the ground, his shirt and abdomen torn apart.

He could feel the blood running down his fingers, he could feel the skin under his nails and it was making him nauseous. He was sobbing and screaming inside his head, but the only sound that was coming out of his mouth was his own cold laughter.

‘That was amazing.’ The Nogitsune laughed and licked clean his fingers.

The metallic taste of blood attacked his tongue, hot and disgusting and he gagged.

He woke up with a sob, his dead father’s body still clean inside his head.

He felt a hand on his left shoulder and he trashed around until someone started speaking.

‘You’re alright, Stiles.’ It was his father’s voice. ‘It’s over.’ He willed is eyes to open and he came eyes to eyes with his father’s concerned face. His father’s concerned, but very much alive face. He let out a sob of relied and relaxed back into his bed only to realize that at some point during his nightmare he had thrown up all over his bed and himself.

He pushed his father’s hand away and stood up, taking his dirty covers with him. Somewhere between walking to the bathroom and trying not to fall on his face, he realized that it was day now, meaning that he would be late for school.

‘Go take a shower and come down for breakfast. I’ll call the school to let them know that you won’t be going today.’ The Sheriff said and Stiles let out a small sigh of relief, but didn’t comment.

He took a long, hot shower, trying to erase the nightmare from his mind. It wasn’t as easy as said and done. Turns out, memories don’t run away as easy as the water down his body. His skin was red by the time he got out of the shower.

He returned to his bedroom and got dressed. He could still smell the faint scent of his own vomit so he opened the window.

He went to the kitchen and found his father putting the last of the bacon on the table.

‘You only get one stripe of bacon.’ He said half-heartedly.

‘Eat as much as you can. If you throw up again, drink some ginger ale.’ Stiles nodded. He managed to eat half a pancake and some fruit.

Half an hour later his father stood up. He was already wearing his uniform. Somehow, Stiles had missed that.

‘I have to go to work.’ He said and looked at his son, concern shining in his eyes. ‘Will you be alright on your own?’

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘I’ll be fine.’ He said with a small smile.

John sighed but nodded. He left after kissing his son on the forehead.

Stiles decided that he would clean the dishes and then he would go and make his bed. Maybe he’d so a little research as well. He finished the dished in under only ten minutes.

He shivered when he entered his room and immediately closed the window. It was just the start of October and the air was already chilly out.

Thankfully, the smell of puke had disappeared. While he was finishing making his bed, his phone rang and he groaned when he saw that it was Scott.

‘Good morning!’ Came the cheerful voice of his best friend and he smiled in spite of himself.

He murmured a greeting back, knowing that Scott could hear it.

‘Are you okay? Why aren’t you at school?’ And there it was. The reason why Scott was calling him.

‘I’m fine. I’m just a little under the weather and dad told me to stay home today to not get any worse.’ Thankfully, werewolves couldn’t hear lies over the phone.

‘Do you want me to come over after school?’ Scott asked him.

‘Nah. I’ll probably try and catch some sleep.’

‘Are you having nightmares?’ Stiles cursed himself at the concern on his friend’s voice.

‘I’m fine Scotty. I just need to sleep it off.’ He said, trying to sound as convincing as he could.

‘Okay.’ Scott sighed. ‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

Stiles murmured a small goodbye and hang up. He let out a sigh and fell back on the bed, the thought of doing any research forgotten as he fell asleep once again.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

He woke up with a groan when someone closed the window. He would have sworn that he had closed it himself. He opened his eyes and saw a blurry Derek glaring at him.

With a very manly shriek, thank you very much, he sat up, rubbing his eyes to get rid of the traces of sleep.

‘What are you doing here?’ He asked with a small yawn, but all Derek did was look around his room.

‘The room smells like puke.’ The werewolf commented and Stiles shrugged.

‘People throw up, sometimes.’

‘Why weren’t you at school today?’

‘I think you answered that one yourself, buddy.’ Derek smelled him and frowned.

‘You don’t smell sick.’ Stiles shrugged once again.

‘I took a nap.’

‘For five hours?’

‘It was a big nap.’ Stiles reasoned and Derek shook his head, but he wasn’t as tensed as he was when Stiles had woken up.

‘You were worried.’ Stiles suddenly said, but the only thing Derek did, was glare at him. ‘You really do care!’ He laughed. ‘Your pups told you I wasn’t in school today and you immediately came here.’

‘They are not my pups.’ Derek sighed defeated.

Stiles snorted. ‘They are. You are the big papa wolf and they are your pups.’ Derek groaned. ‘Hey, did you know that every pack has a pack mom? Why am I asking? Of course you do. You are a born werewolf after all. I did some research last night and I found out that a pack doesn’t survive long without a pack mon. Do we have a pack mom? Of course we do. It’s probably Lydia. She’s scary and we never disagree with her.’ He finished his rambling and took a deep breath.

It was maybe the light, because he thought he saw a fond expression on Derek’s face that soon disappeared.

‘Lydia’s not the pack mom.’ Derek huffed, like the mere thought of that had offended him.

‘Then who’s the pack mom?’ Stiles asked confused. Derek shrugged, a small smile on his face, hands inside his pockets. He was so relaxed, Stiles hated him for a second. But, only a second.

‘You’ll figure it out.’

Stiles groaned.

‘Erica told me that she’ll come over to take you shopping with her.’ Stiles groaned again.

‘Tell her I’m sick.’ He fell face first on the bed and when he looked up at Derek, the Alpha had a small smirk on his face.

‘And lie to one of my pups? What kind of father figure would I be then?’

Stiles gaped at him before he started laughing. ‘Oh my God!’ He wiped an imaginary tear from his eyes. ‘That was gold. Can you say it again so I can record it?’ He asked and Derek rolled him eyes, but sobered seconds later.

‘If you don’t want Erica to come, I’ll tell her not to.’ Derek said, but Stiles gave a dismissive wave of his hand.

‘Nah, it’s okay. I haven’t spent time with her in a while.’

Derek sent him a knowing look before nodding.

‘She’s ten minutes away. You should change.’ Stiles looked at himself, realizing that he was only wearing his pajamas. He looked up, but Derek had disappeared, his window opened once again.

‘Sourwolf.’ He muttered and stood up with a defeated sigh.

He chose to wear his usual outfit, consisted of a pair of faded blue jeans, a simple t-shirt and his usual plaid shirt. His favorite pair of sneakers were the last piece of his outfit. He decided to go to the bathroom and try to fix his bed hair even though he knew it was a lost cause. He brushed his teeth and returned to his bedroom, only to find Erica sitting on his bed, his window now closed and locked.

He would fight everyone that said otherwise, but the sound that came out of his mouth was definitely manly.

‘Do any of you know how to use a goddamn door?’ He clutched his heart as Erica smirked at him. ‘I swear to God; Scott is the only civilized person around here.’ He muttered.

‘Derek was here.’ She said and he glared at her.

‘I know. He’s the reason I woke up.’ Erica’s smirk only got bigger at that. She stood up.

‘Let’s go to the mall.’ She said and Stiles groaned.

‘Why?’ He whined.

‘I need a new pair of heels and a couple of tight jeans.’ Stiles suddenly hated his life.

‘Why don’t you take Lydia with you?’ He asked and Erica scoffed.

‘She’s scary.’ The blond werewolf reasoned and Stiles couldn’t argue with that.

‘Fine.’ He sighed. ‘But, you’re paying for food.’ The smirk was back.

‘Only if you pay for my shoes.’ She had a glint in her eyes. Stiles knew that glint. It was the glint that meant that he couldn’t back out of it.

He sighed. ‘Deal.’ Her smirk was animalistic.

A few minutes later they were at the mall. Even though it was a week day, the mall was full of people and Stiles didn’t know if he should feel proud of the looks he was getting as Erica took a hold of his hand or just feel confused.

‘Why are you holding my hand? You are with Boyd.’ He said and Erica shrugged.

‘Boyd isn’t here.’

‘People will talk.’ Stiles said as he saw some people from school looking at them.

Erica shrugged again. ‘Let them talk.’ She glanced at the uneasy look on Stiles face and gave him a small smile.

‘If you don’t want me to hold your hand then I won’t. I’m not making a move on you. I like Boyd very much.’

Stiles eyed their hands again. ‘Is this a pack thing?’ He wondered and she grinned. That was answer enough.

He squeezed her hand gently and followed her towards the nearest shoe shop.

Two hours and many foot cramps later, they were both sitting down, burgers and milkshakes in front of them.

‘We have movie night tomorrow at Derek’s.’ Erica said and Stiles nodded. ‘It’s your turn to bring snacks and cook.’ She added seconds later making the boy groan.

‘What do you want to eat?’ He asked and she shrugged.

‘You know we like everything you make.’ Suddenly, Stiles had a great idea. He smirked and took a huge bite off his burger.

‘If I’m cooking what I’m thinking, then I’ll need to go early to Derek’s to prepare.’ He said.

‘I’m sure Derek won’t mind.’

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Tomorrow morning came with the Sheriff finding his son in the attic, going through his mother’s stuff.

‘What are you looking for?’ He asked as Stiles opened a dusty box.

‘Mom’s cook book.’ He made a happy noise when he found what he was looking for. He hummed as he turned the pages and grinned when he found the recipe he wanted.

‘You’re cooking for the pack today?’ His father asked and Stiles made an affirmative sound. ‘What are you making?’ Stiles showed him the page and John hummed.

‘They’re going to like it.’ John assured him and Stiles shrugged and marked the page before closing the book.

‘I hope so.’ He smiled at is father and John smiled back.

A lot can be said with a smile and in that moment a lot were said. A thank you for continuing the legacy your mother left behind. A sorry for not being there for you when you were going through hell. But most of all, thank you for being here now.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Derek opened the door only to find Stiles holding several grocery bags. He didn’t greet the boy, but took a couple of bags containing pasta and ground beef- if the smell was anything to go by- and went towards the kitchen, knowing that Stiles was following him.

‘You’re early.’ The Alpha said, placing the bags on the counter.

Stiles started unpacking. ‘Difficult food to make.’ He put him mother’s cook book on the table. ‘Where are the pups?’

Derek sighed. ‘Isaac’s with Scott and Erica is on a date with Boyd.’ Stiles hummed. ‘What are you making?’

‘Something.’ Derek huffed and Stiles looked up with a smirk.

‘Here,’ He pointed at the opened book on the table. ‘Here’s what I’m cooking.’

Derek leaned in, trying to read the book, but having no success over it.

‘What kind of language is that?’ He asked and Stiles’ smirk got bigger.

‘Greek.’

Derek raised an eyebrow.

‘You know Greek?’ He asked. There was something with the way he said it, almost like he was impressed.

Stiles hummed in agreement. ‘My mom was half Greek, half Polish, so both dad and I are fluent.’ Derek was definitely impressed.

‘So, what’s the name of the food?’

‘It’s called ‘[Pastistsio](https://www.google.gr/search?hl=el&authuser=0&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1067&bih=727&q=pastitsio&oq=pastitsio&gs_l=img.3...195.3964.0.4285.9.8.0.1.0.0.139.897.0j7.7.0....0...1ac.1.64.img..1.6.780.8MXJ9wK0uDc#imgrc=PNN3umka6s_JvM%3A).' It’s a traditional Greek food and yes, it tastes as good as it looks.'

Derek stayed silent as Stiles finished unpacking the ingredients.

‘Do you want any help?’ The Alpha asked and Stiles beamed at him.

‘It certainly wouldn’t be unwanted.’

Turns out, when two people cook together, time runs like water and the food is cooked faster.

Finished with the food, Derek and Stiles had a little more than an hour before the rest of the pack begun to show up.

‘I’ll do the salad and the tzatziki before we eat.’ Stiles informed Derek, who raised an eyebrow.

‘Greek yogurt, garlic, cucumber and olive oil.’ He explained. ‘I hope you don’t mind spicy food because I put a lot of garlic into it.’

‘I’m okay.’ Derek said and went to the living room, Stiles flowing close behind. The food was in the oven and Stiles knew that in a while, the house would be swimming with the smell of it.

‘Do you want to watch TV?’ It was back. The awkwardness had made a very visible return and Stiles was having none of that.

He shrugged. ‘Not really.’ Derek nodded.

Derek’s gaze was fixed on his hands like they were holding the answers of the universe.

‘I wouldn’t mind listening to some music, though.’ Stiles said seconds later. ‘I’ve shown you my favorite songs, but I’ve yet to see yours.’

Derek cleared his throat. ‘I don’t really think it would be your style.’

Stiles smirked. ‘Try me.’ Derek sighed, but stood up and went to get his laptop.

‘Do you like Panic! At The Disco?’ Derek asked as he sat down, closer to Stiles than he was before.

Stiles’ eyes widened. He looked at Derek with an expression that could only be described as pure awe.

Stiles didn’t squeal. He definitely didn’t squeal. ‘Dude.’ He cleared his throat, trying to console himself. ‘I love Panic! At The Disco.’ He said.

Derek’s face was void of any expression, but Stiles’ could see his lips trying to breaking into a smile.

Stiles didn’t know how it happened. One moment he was hearing Derek clicking away on the keyboard and the next, the melody of ‘The Ballad of Mona Lisa’ was filling the room.

Stiles started to softly sing along, whereas, Derek was moving his mouth with no sound coming out of it.

 

‘Okay.’ Stiles started when the song ended. ‘I know every Panic! At The Disco song. Give me something else.’

Derek hummed and clicked something, but suddenly grew tense and seemed to curl into himself.

‘What’s wrong?’ Stiles asked but Derek only shrugged.

‘Nothing.’ He licked his dry lips and Stiles’ eyes followed the movement. ‘It’s just that…it’s my favorite song.’

Stiles understood. You can learn a lot about someone by listening to their favorite song. ‘You don’t have to.’ He said.

Derek shook his head. ‘Nah. I haven’t heard this song in years.’

Music started playing and really, Stiles would never would have thought that a song could give so much away for one person.

It was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.

Stiles stared at Derek as the lyrics and music swam around them and he felt like tearing up.

His mind was running fast, trying to connect every lyric to a part of Derek’s past and honestly? The song made sense. In that moment, Derek was making sense and Stiles’ mouth was dry and his eyes were wet and everything was raw and real for the first time in what felt like forever.

When the song ended, Stiles cleared his throat and quickly whipped his eyes. When he looked at Derek, his mouth became dry once again, because the smile Derek was spotting was breathtaking.

‘I have forgotten how good this song is.’ The Alpha sighed and turned to Stiles, his face void of the smile but visibly more relaxed.

‘You never told me the title.’ Stiles commented.

‘Dear Agony by Breaking Benjamin.’

 

Stiles hummed. ‘I didn’t know you liked metal.’ Derek just let out a grunt.

‘You should sing it sometime.’ Stiles said.

Derek didn’t reply.

He put the next song on and honestly? Stiles was starting to think he had a new favorite band.

Music travelled around them, sometimes gruff, sometimes soft and it was perfect. Erica and Boyd came an hour later and by that time, Stiles felt like he knew Derek his whole life.

‘What’s that smell?’ Erica asked after giving a kiss on Derek’s cheek and hugging the air out of Stiles. Boyd was content with giving a nod at the human and brushing his shoulders with his Alpha.

‘Food.’ Stiles wheezed in response.

‘Erica.’ Derek reprimanded like a tired parent. ‘We need Stiles. Don’t break him.’ Erica muttered something that was too soft for human ears, but by the growl Derek gave, the two wolves heard it perfectly clear.

Stiles decided that he didn’t want to know, so he stood up.

‘I’m going to prepare the last of the foods.’ He explained and Erica was happy enough to help him.

‘What do you want me to do?’ Erica asked cheerfully and Stiles gave her three cucumbers, a bowl and a grater.

‘Grate the cucumber and squeeze the water out of it.’ He instructed and the Beta nodded.

Stiles took out the garlic and the yogurt and started to prepare them. Soon they were done with the tzatziki and the only thing they had to make was the salad.

‘Isaac and Scott are here.’ Erica said and seconds later, Stiles heard the front door opening and closing.

Scott came into the kitchen and beamed at the bowl Stiles was holding.

‘We’re feasting Greek style tonight, huh?’

Stiles grinned at his friend. ‘Duh.’

‘What did you make?’ Scott asked.

‘Use your wolfy nose, Scotty.’ Scott sniffed the air and his mouth watered.

He let out a happy groan. ‘Dude, I love you.’

The door opened and closed once again, meaning that Jackson and Lydia were here.

‘Scotty, do me a favor and get the food out of the oven.’ Scott had the excitement of a thousand puppies and opened the oven before Stiles could warn him, burning his hands.

‘Use gloves you assbutt!’ Stiles yelled.

‘I didn’t know it would still be hot!’

Erica was laughing at the corner while Scott was watching his burned hands heal.

Derek came into the kitchen, a frown on his face, taking in the image in front of him.

‘What happened?’ He asked.

‘Scott burned his hands because he’s an idiot.’ Erica summarized and Derek sighed.

‘Go help the others with the table. I’ll help Stiles.’ He told the two werewolves who nodded and walked away, leaving Stiles and Derek alone in the kitchen.

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Take the food out of the oven and for the love of God, please use the kitchen gloves.’

Derek snorted but did as told. And if Stiles thought that he looked kind of hot wearing the kitchen gloves then it was something he would take to the grave.

‘Do you need anything else?’ Derek asked after placing the food on the table.

Stiles thought for a few seconds. ‘You could cut the tomatoes for the salad. I only have to cut the cucumbers and put the feta cheese and we’ll be ready to eat.’

Derek nodded and did as told.

Everything felt so domestic, Stiles couldn’t help but stare at the way Derek was working the knife, pushing the already cut tomatoes to the side with those big fingers of his, -

Stiles stopped that train of thought after almost cutting himself.

Minutes later, the salad was ready and already in plates along with pieces of Pastitsio, the pack making happy groans with every bite they took.

‘This is heavenly.’ Erica moaned, putting any and every porn star out of business.

Stiles blushed and looked down on his food. He still wasn’t eating like he used to before the Nogitsune, so the food on his plate was lesser than any of the other pack members, even Lydia’s.

‘When did you learn to cook?’ Isaac asked him next and Stiles found himself smiling softly.

‘My mom used to teach me when I was younger and when she died,’ He cleared his throat when his voice broke. ‘And when she died, I started cooking because we had to survive somehow.’ He joked.

Silence fell on the table as the pack just starred at their plates.

Surprisingly, Derek was the one to break the silence.

‘Well, no matter the circumstances, the food is good.’ The Alpha said and the rest of the Betas murmured their agreement.

Lydia was looking at both Derek and Stiles, her planning face on and suddenly, Stiles was scared for is life. He did not like that face.

‘I didn’t know you were part Greek.’ Lydia voiced the thing everyone except Scott was thinking.

Stiles shrugged. ‘My mother’s father was Greek.’

‘Do you have any relatives in Greece?’ Erica asked interested.

‘Yeah.’ He nodded. ‘My mother’s sister, her husband and their son.’

‘I haven’t seen Aggelos in ages.’ Scott said and Stiles hummed.

‘Aggelos?’ Isaac asked confused.

‘My cousin.’ Stiles explained and stopped at that.

They continued eating, enjoying the silence and the food.

‘Greek mythology is fascinating.’ Lydia said a few moments later, breaking the silence.

‘I hope it stays just that.’ Jackson grunted and a few snorts broke around the table, laughter soon following.

‘Oh, man.’ Stiles whipped a tear away. ‘Imagine having to kill a Medusa.’ He giggled at the thought while Derek groaned.

‘Thank God, Medusa is a territorial creature.’ Silence fell around the table once again.

‘They are real!?’ Stiles erupted seconds later.

Derek glared at him. ‘ _We_   are real.’ Derek pointed out. ‘Why wouldn’t Medusa be real?’

Stiles groaned and banged his head on the table until Scott stopped him.

‘Does that mean that   _everything_  is real?’ Isaac wondered in awe.

Derek shrugged. ‘It’s possible.’ At Stiles’ excited face, he added. ‘No, Stiles. If dragons are real, I’m not letting you get one as a pet.’ Stiles pouted while the others laughed. Even Derek cracked a smile.

‘Killjoy.’ Stiles muttered, but smiled again seconds later.

‘Are vampires real?’ He asked and many groaned. All of them had heard that question before, because according to Stiles;   ** _‘If werewolves are real, then vampires have to be real as well, right? It only makes sense, Derek!’_**

‘I don’t know, Stiles.’ Derek sighed.

‘What do you know, then?’ Stiles asked.

‘I know that I can kill you with a push.’ Derek joked and Jackson was the only one to laugh.

Stiles let out an awkward laugh and fell silent, starring at his now empty plate.

Derek cursed himself. He knew those words. Stiles had said them before. He looked at the boy and willed himself to not wolf out a hurt himself or hurt Jackson for laughing or just run away and hide.

Derek stood up. ‘I’m going for a run.’ He said and left the table, not waiting for anyone to say anything and honestly? If someone **did**  say something, he wasn’t sure he would stay and listen.

He went outside and let his wolf take control. He stepped out of his clothes, letting them laying there, because he just didn’t care anymore.

He started running, letting his eyes bleed red and maybe he scared some rabbits and squirrels, but he didn’t care. He killed a few of them, left them laying there dead, in a pool of their own blood. He would eat them, but he wasn’t hungry and even if he was, he was sure he would throw them up.

He ran until he couldn’t run anymore and when he knew he would fall if he took another step, he laid beside a tree, under a shadow and let his eyes fall shut.

Minutes later, or was it hours later? Derek wasn’t sure, he heard footsteps. He let out a growl, but when the familiar scent hit him, that growl turned into a pitiful whine.

Stiles was walking towards him, holding his clothes, a thoughtful expression on his face.

He sat up when Stiles sat down beside him and he almost let out a whine at the almost there touch.

A few seconds passed until Stiles broke the silence. ‘Hi.’

Derek tilted his head to the right as if he was asking;   _‘How did you find me?’_

‘I followed the trail of dead animals.’ Stiles answered as if he knew and Derek realized that he did. Stiles was the only one who could read his wolf like an open book.

‘They started movie night.’ Stiles said a beat later. ‘Jackson is on dish duty, so you don’t have to worry about going back to a destroyed kitchen.’

Derek let out a whine that could mean a million things, but Stiles just smiled at him.

‘I know.’ The human said and scratched behind his ears. Derek arched up into the touch, making Stiles chuckle and suddenly, just like that, Derek was forgiven.

‘I was stupid.’ Stiles said and Derek looked at him, missing the heat of Stiles’ hands on his fur. ‘You were right. A push can kill me.’ Hearing those words coming out of Stiles’ mouth for the second time was like a punch to Derek’s gut. He whined low on his throat and Stiles started petting him again. ‘It’s just that, when you said it, it felt more real.’

Derek turned and licked Stiles’ fingers.

‘Gross, dude!’ Stiles said disgusted, but he was laughing.

Minutes later, Stiles decided that it was time to get up and that meant that the hand that was petting Derek into oblivion would disappear.

Derek was not having it.

Derek rolled on his back, barking and whining, making Stiles raise an eyebrow at him.

‘What?’ The human asked and Derek barked again.

‘Do you want me to rub your tummy?’ Stiles cooed and Derek decided that he would hit him later, because now, he did want his tummy to be rubbed.

‘Alright.’ Stiles sighed and sat down once again. Derek might have done a small victory dace inside his head.

The noises Derek was making while Stiles was rubbing his tummy would hunt him for life, but right now he was enjoying this way too much.

Stiles laughed when Derek rolled his tongue out, but Derek was too blissed to care.

‘I’ve never seen you like this.’ Stiles said after Derek finally turned around, his head on Stiles’ thigh. ‘So carefree.’

Derek stood up and took his clothes, walking behind a tree nearby and changing back, before going back to Stiles.

The human, who was already standing up, sighed in relief when he caught sight of the werewolf.

‘I thought you left.’ He admitted and Derek scoffed.

‘I’m sorry.’ The Alpha said. For what, he wasn’t sure, but he was sorry.

Stiles smiled, and once again he was forgiven, both as a human and as a wolf.

‘Let’s go back or else Lydia will make them watch the Notebook.’

Derek nodded. ‘We should be fast then.’

Stiles smiled.

They didn’t talk on the way back, but somehow, it was alright. Derek would frown at every dead body he would find and each and every time, Stiles would pat him on the back to assure him that it was alright.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘You’re back.’ Isaac sighed in relief when Stiles and Derek entered the living room.

The pack was already sitting around the room, packages of chips and pop-corn and several types of candy were decorating the table in front of the T.V.

Lydia and Jackson were sitting on one of the loveseats, while Erica and Boyd were sitting on the other. Scott and Isaac were sitting on the floor, on each side of the couch, leaving it empty for Derek and Stiles.

‘You started Guardians of the Galaxy without me?’ Stiles asked, faking hurt and every trace of tension disappeared inside the room.

‘We can start over if you want.’ Scott said. ‘We’re only twenty minutes in.’

Stiles waved a hand at him. ‘I’ve seen it before.’ Jackson opened his mouth to comment, but Lydia’s glare stopped him.

Stiles took a bag of plain chips and sat at one side of the couch, right behind Scott, while Derek took nothing and sat behind Isaac.

They were sitting close to each other, the couch wasn’t that big after all, but they weren’t close enough to touch.

The sudden longlines for closeness and contact overwhelmed Stiles and he stuffed his mouth with chips, trying to fill a void inside of him that nothing could fill since the Nogitsune.

He watched the movie, laughing at all the right parts, but not really feeling it. The events of the day finally caught up to him and he felt so tired, he could hardly keep his eyes open. But he managed.

The movie ended soon after and the pack got ready for another one, but Stiles couldn’t handle it.

Scott must have smelled his tiredness, because he looked at him concern.

‘Are you alright?’ The Beta werewolf asked and Stiles wanted to nod, but he shook his head.

‘I’m tired.’ He answered and Scott smiled at him.

‘Do you want me to drive you home?’ Stiles didn’t want to say yes, but his mouth betrayed him.

They stood up and said their goodbyes, hugged each other. Lydia hugged Stiles tightly and kissed his cheek. Jackson nodded at him and Stiles nodded back and just like that, the Beta werewolf was forgiven.

Scott and Stiles entered the jeep and Stiles was too tired to tell Scott to be careful with his car, even though the werewolf was doing nothing wrong.

By the time they got to his house, Stiles was already asleep. Scott shook him gently, making the human groan and bat the offending hand away.

‘Come on, Stiles. Just a few more minutes and you’ll go to sleep.’ Stiles groaned again, but got out of the car with minimal to no help from his werewolf friend.

‘Why am I tired?’ Stiles whined as they passed an amused Sheriff at the living room. ‘I didn’t do anything today except cooking.’ The boy fell onto his bed, leaving his friend to take off his shoes.

‘What kind of sorcery is this?’ Stiles moaned, making Scott chuckle.

‘Maybe it’s emotional stuff as well.’ Scott said and Stiles raised his head to look at his friend.

When Stiles didn’t answer, Scott pressed on.

‘What did you do with Derek when the two of you were gone?’ Stiles sat up.

‘Nothing.’ He answered. ‘I found him as a wolf beside a tree and I sat next to him. He said he was sorry and that’s it.’ Scott could see there was more to the story.

‘And?’

‘And nothing.’ Stiles crossed his arms and Scott smirked.

‘Something else happened.’ The werewolf said and Stiles growled, perfectly mimicking a small cat.

‘I rubbed his tummy.’ Stiles murmured.

‘What was that?’ Scott asked him, innocent, even though he heard him perfectly clear.

‘I rubbed his tummy!’ Stiles said louder. Scott grinned.

‘You like him.’ The werewolf softly at his friend’s shocked expression.

‘It’s okay.’ Scott promised. ‘I don’t have a problem with you liking boys.’

‘I like girls.’ Stiles denied.

‘There is something called bisexuality, Stiles.’ The human grew silent once again. Scott sighed and sat next to him.

‘There’s so much happening.’ Stiles whispered and Scott nodded, understanding.

‘It’s a good thing. We need something human in all this supernatural shit that’s been happening.’

Stiles raised an eyebrow at his friend. ‘When did you get so smart?’

Scott shrugged. ‘I’ve been through some stuff. We all have.’

‘Don’t tell anyone.’ Scott nodded and Stiles relaxed.

The werewolf stood up. ‘I’ll leave you to rest.’ Stiles nodded and stood up to change into his pajamas.

‘You’re going back?’

‘Yeah. It’s Erica’s turn to pick the movie and something’s telling me  we’re going to watch Captain America.’

Stiles chuckled. ‘We should name our pack; The Marvel Pack.’

Scott laughed.

‘You should tell Derek that.’ Stiles smiled softly.

‘Do you think he would agree?’

Scott shrugged. ‘You never know.’

They said their goodnights and Scott left.

Stiles said goodnight to his father and fell into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘Stiles, get up. It’s time for school.’ The boy groaned and glared at his father, but sat up nonetheless.

‘Why, of father of mine, do you have to torture me like that?’

The Sheriff snorted but didn’t comment. ‘You’re going to Lydia’s after school?’ He asked instead and Stiles’ groaned again.

‘She wants to plan about her Halloween party.’ He sighed.

His father smiled at him. ‘Some time ago you would have done everything to spend some time alone with Lydia Martin.’

Stiles shrugged. ‘Things change.’

The Sheriff nodded. ‘Well, I’m glad you’re not depressing yourself over her anymore.’ At Stiles’ face, he fully entered the room.

‘Is there someone else?’ He asked and Stiles shrugged.

‘I don’t know yet.’ John nodded and smiled.

‘Whoever they are, they’ll be lucky to have you.’ Stiles smiled at his father. ‘Now, get ready.’ Stiles let out a small laugh and nodded.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘Good morning.’ Scott greeted him when he got out of the jeep.

Stiles didn’t yelp. He. Did. Not. Yelp. ‘Stop doing that!’

Scott was kind enough to have his sorry face on.

‘Did you sleep well?’ The werewolf asked and Stiles nodded.

They found the rest of the pack by the school entrance and Derek was with them.

‘What are you doing here?’ Stiles asked the Alpha.

‘I want to know who this Theo guy is.’

Stiles nodded.

He thought about all the progress the pack has been through in the last couple years. If the pack was now what it was then, Derek would just say to his Betas to just kill Theo and leave the body for the police to find.

Stiles smiled. He liked progress.

‘Are you still coming over after school?’ Lydia asked.

Stiles nodded. ‘Just us?’

‘I don’t trust anyone else with such a delicate subject as a party.’

Months ago, Stiles would give everything to be in the same room with Lydia, alone, for a few hours. Now, he was content to be her friend and he understood that they were better that way. She was clearly in love with Jackson, anyway.

‘And you trust Stiles with a party?’ Isaac asked, making the others laugh and the human to scoff at him.

‘Contrary to popular belief, I know how to party.’ Stiles defended and they all laughed again,

‘Video games don’t count, sweetie.’ Erica told him and he pouted.

The bell rang.

‘If this Theo guy do something just speak and I’ll hear.’ Derek told them.

‘Where will you be?’ Stiles asked.

‘Around.’ Was that a wink? Did Derek wink at him? That was definitely a wink. Really? Did that actually happen?

‘Stiles.’ Scott shook him and he snapped out of his inner monologue.

‘Yeah, what?’

‘You were out of it.’ Scott told him concerned.

Stiles smiled at his friend. ‘Just thinking.’ He said. Scott seemed convinced, but Stiles knew his friend better than that.

‘Seriously, nothing’s wrong. Just some inner monologue.’ Scott nodded and they entered the school.

‘I have English with Theo now.’ Stiles said when they went to their lockers.

‘Remember that Derek is around.’ Scott reminded him.

‘That _around_ is too vague for me.’ Stiles scoffed and Scott chuckled.

Stiles entered the classroom and sat next to Isaac, the blond werewolf giving him a small smile.

‘Is he here?’ Stiles asked and Isaac nodded.

‘He’s at the back.’

Stiles could feel eyes on his back and he knew that it was Theo.

‘Is he saying anything?’

‘Not yet.’ That yet was the thing that made Stiles shudder.

A few minutes after the class started, Isaac stiffened. Stiles noticed a few seconds later and turned to his friend.

‘What is he talking about?’ Isaac shook his head, swallowing a whimper.

‘Isaac.’ Stiles pressed.

‘The Nogitsune, Allison.’ Stiles’ breath caught, but he swallowed around it.

‘Can you tell Derek?’ Isaac nodded and Stiles saw his mouth moving but he couldn’t hear a thing.

‘Derek’s coming.’

‘Coming!?’ Stiles hissed. ‘What do you mean coming!?’

Isaac didn’t get to answer because seconds later someone knocked on the door and then Derek entered.

‘I’m here to take Isaac and Stiles.’ The Alpha said, not bothering with small talk or introducing himself.

‘And who are you?’ God bless the teachers with a logical bone in them because Stiles knew that if it was Harris, he would give them away without a question and silently wish that it was a murderer who took them.

‘Derek Hale.’ Many people gasped. ‘I’m the legal guardian of Isaac. I informed the Sheriff that I’ll be taking Stiles as well.’ Murmurs started to arise as Isaac and Stiles started to pack their things.

‘Yes, take them.’ The teacher smiled awkwardly at Derek and the werewolf gave a single not of his head, before leaving the class, Isaac and Stiles following close behind.

‘What’s happening?’ Isaac wondered as they got out of the school.

‘No more school for you two, today.’ Derek answered and got into his car.

‘Are you kidnapping us?’ The Alpha glared at the human who sat on the front seat of the Camaro, leaving a slightly annoyed Isaac to sit behind.

‘’What about the rest of the pack?’ The Beta werewolf asked confused as Derek started the car, the engine roaring to life.

‘They all heard what I told the teacher.’ Derek said and they fell silent for the rest of the drive.

‘Did you really call my dad?’

‘Nope.’ Derek answered when they got out of the car. ‘That’s why you’re going to call him now.’

Stiles rolled his eyes, but did as told.

Seconds later, his father answered the phone.

‘Why are you calling me?’ John said in a way of greeting making Stiles scoff.

‘I could be sick!’ He defended.

The Sheriff sighed. ‘What is it Stiles? Do I need to come get you?’

‘No, Derek already did.’ Stiles answered.

‘Something supernatural?’ Stiles looked at Derek who shrugged.

‘It could be.’

The Sheriff sighed again. ‘Call me if something happens.’ They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Both Derek and Isaac were inside the house, so Stiles just followed the noise and found them in the living room.

‘This guy again?’ Stiles groaned when he saw the T.V.

‘He’s disgusting.’ Derek agreed.

Isaac was looking at them, amused, but didn’t comment.

‘What is he even cooking?’

‘Some kind of velvet soup.’ Derek answered.

‘He didn’t even cut them!’ Stiles gasped a few moments later. ‘He put the whole onion in there!’

Derek had a matching face of disgust on, while Isaac was trying to hide his laughter.

‘Why don’t you just turn off the T.V?’ The Beta werewolf asked and both his Alpha and the human glared at him.

‘And lose the only source of entertainment?’ Stiles asked like Isaac had offended him.

The blond werewolf snorted but chose not to comment any further.

‘Lydia’s here.’ Derek said a few minutes later.

The Banshee entered the house, eyes set on Stiles who groaned and stood up.

She rolled his eyes. ‘You look like a pig ready for slaughter.’

He shrugged. ‘I might as well be.’

Derek sighed and stood up as well. ‘Isaac and I are going back to the school.’

‘We are?’

Derek glared at his Beta. ‘Yes, we are.’

Stiles nodded and took his bag. ‘Please, don’t kill anyone.’

The Alpha scoffed and Stiles smirked.

‘Come on.’ Lydia said and took Stiles’ hand, dragging him out of the house.

‘We have work to do.’ The red-head said, making the human sigh once again.

‘Please tell me you don’t want my opinions on clothes.’ Stiles pleaded.

Lydia snorted and tried to mask the sound with a small laugh. ‘Please, I have Erica for that.’

Stiles sighed in relief.

‘But, I do want to know what you’re dressing as.’

Stiles groaned.

Truth was, he had thought about his costume.

‘A wolf.’ He answered a few moments later.

‘A werewolf?’ She asked and Stiles shook his head.

‘Just a wolf.’ She hummed and parked the car.

When they got out of the car, Stiles asked; ‘What about you?’

‘I’m thinking about a hunter.’ There was no need to add anything, no need to clarify what kind of hunter she was dressing as. Stiles knew and he was sure that the rest of the pack would know as well.

They spent the rest of the morning planning about the party and surprisingly, Stiles had fun. Lydia would listen to his recommendations and she actually planned to go through with some of them.

They ate lunch and Stiles found out that Lydia was not scared to get messy if that meant she would take a bite with all the things in her sandwich.

When they were done, they had planned a party people would talk about for months.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Just as Stiles got to his house, Isaac and Scott were getting off Scott’s bike.

The human groaned and unlocked the door to his house, knowing the two wolves were following him.

‘What’s wrong now?’ He asked, not bothering to raise his voice, werewolf hearing after all.

The two Beta werewolves followed Stiles to his room and sat on his bed. He sat on his desk chair and spanned around to look at them.

He opened his mouth to talk.

‘Derek confronted Theo.’ Scott cut him off.

Stiles closed his mouth. He sighed.

‘What did he do?’

Isaac looked around. 'He punched him for messing with us.’ He said shyly.

Stiles groaned, but started laughing.

‘Oh, man.’ He whipped his non existing tears away. ‘Who would have thought that Derek would hurt someone for bulling us.’ He giggled.

‘He changed.’ Isaac defended. ‘He cares.’

Stiles’ smile softened. ‘I know.’

 ‘Your car is still at the school.’ Scott said a few minutes later.

Stiles swore.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it that far, know that I love you.  
> Hope you liked this chapter and if you did, leave some kudos and some comments!  
> See you next month:)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hiii guys!  
> New chapter!  
> I would advice you to read the tags before reading this one ;)

‘What time are you going to be back?’ John asked Stiles, who was putting the last touches on his costume, meaning fake wolf claws.

‘Probably late.’ He said. His father nodded.

‘Be safe. No funny business.’ He said, using his Sheriff voice.

Stiles rolled his eyes. ‘Derek’s going to be there.’

John raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that supposed to make me feel better?’

Stiles chuckled. ‘I guess not.’

His father looked at him. ‘That’s your costume?’ He asked.

‘You like it?’

He nodded. ‘It’s different. You made it yourself?’

‘Yeah.’ John smiled.

Stiles picked up a few small vials.

‘Mountain ash?’

Stiles nodded. ‘Just in case.’ He put them inside his pocket.

‘Well, I’m off duty for the night, so please try to be silent when you come back.’

‘Sure thing, daddio.’ He put his shoes on. ‘Now, I have to go, cause I’m picking up Scott.’

‘Have fun. And try not to cause any trouble.’

Stiles parked in front of Scott’s house, waiting for the werewolf to come out, knowing that he had heard his jeep.

A few moments later, his friend got out and Stiles started laughing.

‘Nice.’ He commented when Scott got inside the car.

The werewolf had decided to go classic tonight. Scott was dressed as Superman, whole cape and tights.

‘A wolf.’ The Beta werewolf deadpanned. ‘Really?’

‘I thought it would be funny.’ Stiles defended.

Scott sniffed him. ‘You smell weird.’ He said and sniffed again, huffing confused.

 ‘I swear I took a shower.’

‘Not bad. Just weird.’ He shook his head, trying to put his thoughts in order. ‘You smell like you usually do, just fainter.’ He explained and Stiles understood why.

‘It’s probably the mountain ash.’ He took one vial and showed it to his friend.

‘Just in case?’

‘Just in case.’ Stiles repeated.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘Derek!’ Erica yelled and the Alpha let out a sigh. ‘Come one, I want to see your costume!’

‘Then come see it.’ He grumbled and let out a small smile at the excitement on his Beta’s voice when she yelped in response.

‘Wow.’ She gasped when she saw him.

Derek was wearing a white button up with a bright yellow scarf tucked inside of it. A purple vest on top of that. He had a long black coat on with matching yellow buttons. Black gloves were on his hands and; _were they leather?_ Erica thought. But, the things that made Erica fall in love with the whole costume were the black trousers with the purple stripes and the tall black hat with the purple stripe around its base and the two green feathers on the side.

The whole look was on point in Erica’s opinion, but something was missing.

‘Won’t you put anything on your face? A mask, some make-up, perhaps?’ She wondered and smirked when Derek glared at her.

‘What?’ She defended. ‘I dig the look, but there’s something missing.’ At the last part, Derek softened.

‘The costume’s my father’s. It was one of the few things that survived the fire.’

Erica felt bad, but then she put on a big smile.

‘Well, I’ll be happy to help you with your make-up.’

Minutes later, Derek’s face was white with black details, black eyeliner and blue contacts.

‘I have new found respect for all women worldwide.’ Derek said when they were done. Erica smiled brightly.

‘Well, I’m off. I have to dress up as well.’ She left.

Derek stood in front of the mirror, looking at himself. Honestly, Erica did such an amazing work, he could hardly recognize himself. He let his eyes bleed red, but thanks to the blue contacts, they shined bright purple. He thought about leaving them like this, but decided against it. He was colorful enough.

He went to the living room, finding Boyd watching T.V. The Beta was dressed in a black suit, whole with the black tie and the shiny black shoes.

Boyd had to take a second look to realize that was Derek and for some reason, Derek felt smug about it.

‘Wow.’ Said Boyd, making Derek smile.

‘That’s exactly what I said!’ Erica appeared behind Derek.

He turned around.

He took in Erica’s costume. She was dressed up as cat-woman and even though it was a revealing costume, it wasn’t that revealing. Derek was thankful about that.

‘Where’s Isaac?’ The Alpha wondered.

‘Here.’ Isaac came behind him, making Derek smile upon seeing his costume.

‘So, Prince Charming, Catwoman and Agent of SHIELD, ready to go?’

‘Sure thing, whatever you’re dressed as.’

They got into the Camaro.

‘How do you know our costumes?’ Erica asked him after he started the car.

Derek scoffed. ‘Contrary to popular belief, I watch T.V.’

‘What are you dressed as?’ Isaac asked him after they got out of the car. The jeep was parked just around the corner, meaning that Scott and Stiles were already there.

‘He’s dressed to impress.’ Erica laughed when Derek just sighed exasperated at her.

‘He’s dressed to impress Stiles.’ Isaac wiggled his eyebrows, making Erica laugh again. Boyd only rolled his eyes, and even though he was wearing sun-glasses, Derek was so sure, it was as if he could see it.

‘And you’re here to impress Scott.’ It was childish, he knew, but the small smile Isaac ad on his face was worth it.

They entered Lydia’s house and Derek winced at the volume of the music. He was pretty sure he was the only one out of high school there, but that was a given.

Freshmen and Sophomores were dancing to the beat of the music, red cups on their hands with what could only be described as alcohol. Their dancing was dirty, filthy and Derek couldn’t stand looking at them. Tiny outfits were clinging to their bodies; you would think one wrong move would rip them apart.

Derek shook his head. When he was a freshman and a Sophomore he wasn’t like that. H went to parties, sure. He had fun, he had friends. But he didn’t try to get drunk at any chance he got. He couldn’t anyways.

‘Wow.’ He heard and turned around and the thing he saw was breathtaking.

Stiles was dressed as a wolf and it should have been funny if it wasn’t that good on him.

He was wearing black skinny jeans with a dark grey oversized hoody with black hair on the sides and wolf ears on the hood. He had a wolf mask around his neck, that Derek knew would cover his nose and mouth. But, the thing that made Derek weak on his knees, were the red contacts and the fake claws he had on. They were so wrong, but so right at the same time.

‘What are you dressed as?’ Stiles asked and Derek shrugged.

‘It was my father’s costume.’ He said and Stiles’ smile only got bigger and softer. ‘He never told us what it was.’

‘Well, it’s good.’ Stiles complimented, making Derek smile.

‘Where are the others?’ The Alpha asked, having not seen the other three members of his pack upon his entrance.

‘In the kitchen.’ Stiles answered. ‘Scott got a little misty eyed when he saw Lydia’s costume.’ Derek raised an eyebrow in question. Stiles waved a hand.

‘You’ll understand why.’ He said and walked away, knowing that Derek would follow him. ‘Oh, and,’ Stiles looked over his shoulder. ‘Don’t hit Jackson over his costume.’ Derek only grew confused. He wouldn’t hit Jackson with so many people around.

‘Are you serious?’ Derek asked upon seeing Jackson. The werewolf in question only raised an eyebrow when he saw his Alpha.

‘You’re the one wearing make-up and you’re talking about my costume?’

‘I’m not the one dressed as a vampire!’ Derek hissed, making Jackson smirk, fake fangs with fake blood visible from his mouth.

Lydia caught his eye, Scott behind her, and Derek understood why the later would be misty eyed over Lydia’s costume.

Lydia was dressed as a hunter and Derek knew that she was coping one of Allison’s past outfits. She was wearing combat boots with black tights and a comfortable looking white shirt. She had two knives strapped on her belt and a bow with some arrows over her shoulders.

It was an easy costume to make and some would say that she didn’t try at all, but the pack knew and that’s what mattered.

‘Something’s wrong.’ Derek said, feeling Isaac coming to him. He could smell the uneasiness of his Beta, though faint, thanks to all the other smells surrounding him.

‘Smells like death.’ Isaac said when he came next to him.

‘Are you serious?’ Scott asked, the rest of the pack coming near.

‘What do we do?’ Erica looked at Derek.

‘We go and see what they want.’ The Alpha said. ‘If we knew they’re here, then they know we are here as well.’

‘What about the party?’ Jackson wondered and Derek rolled his eyes, but didn’t comment.

Lydia huffed at her boyfriend. ‘I’ll put something in the punch.’ She scoffed at the looks she received. ‘Nothing bad!’ She defended. ‘Just something so they won’t realize we’re gone.’ And she was gone. She returned a couple of minutes later, like nothing happened.

The went to the forest, the werewolves and Banshee walking at the front, while Stiles was busy trying not to step on a rock or a branch and fall down.

Suddenly, the werewolves stopped and Stiles bumped into Jackson. The werewolf glared at him and Stiles pulled his tongue out. He walked to Derek’s side, albeit a few feet behind.

‘What do you want?’ Derek growled at the two wendigos in front of them.

It was one woman and one man, clothes bloody and torn and dirty. Stiles could see their sharp teeth as they both smirked and the toxin running down to the ground from their claws. It was enough of a sight to make Stiles shudder and take a step back, hands going around the vials of mountain ash inside his pocket.

‘Well, isn’t it the Beacon Hills pack.’ The woman licked her lips. ‘And all of it, this time.’ The man added and their hungry gazes fell on Stiles.

Derek gave a warning growl and Scott moved closer to the human. But, the interest on Stiles was gone.

‘How are you going to fight wearing heels?’ The woman, who Stiles decided to nickname boobs, for obvious reasons, asked Erica who smirked in return.

‘You’ll be surprised.’ Sneered Erica. It all happened too fast. One second, Erica was taking off her heel and the other, boobs was wiping blood off of the corner of her mouth, the now broken shoe falling to the ground.

‘Those were the shoes I bought you.’ Stiles whined.

Erica rolled her eyes. ‘You’ll buy me new ones.’ She said.

Boobs growled and ran towards them. The man, who Stiles nicknamed Hobo Face for obvious reasons as well, was running behind her and suddenly all the calmness of the night was replaced by growls, both werewolf and wendigo ones, and groans of pain.

‘Stay behind!’ Scott pushed Stiles aside and the human hid behind a tree.

Lydia was using her bow and arrow to no avail, since she didn’t really know how. When she was out of arrows she threw the bow to the ground and took her two knives. She knew how to use those, because she had trained with Allison. Stiles knew how as well, but he didn’t have any now.

The fight was similar to a few they had before, but also different. It was clear that the wendigos were here to send a message, not to kill.

Lydia fell and stayed down when she took a hit by Hobo Face’s claws.

Stiles rushed to her side, but she was more annoyed than pained.

‘Is it bad?’ She asked him. Stiles didn’t know if she was referring to her clothes or her wounds.

‘You’re fine.’ She wasn’t bleeding and there wasn’t that much blood. ‘Your tights have a small tear on them, though.’

She sighed. ‘I figured.’

‘How do you feel?’ He asked her. Lydia was on her side, head turned away from the fight.

‘I don’t feel anything.’ She said.

‘Like Kanima venom?’ Stiles wondered.

‘I don’t know Stiles. Kanima venom doesn’t affect me.’

Stiles didn’t add anything. He watched the fight, hands around the mountain ash vials inside his pocket, ready to defend himself and Lydia.

Even though they didn’t seem like it, the Wendigos were really good fighters. Almost too good.

‘Erica is out.’ He said. ‘Boobs hit her on the head.’

‘Boobs?’ Lydia asked confused. Stiles shrugged and then realized that she couldn’t see him.

‘Had to give them a name.’

The fight continued. The werewolves would fall and get up again. They were getting tired. Their moves were getting sloppy and dragged out and they would spend more time on the ground.

‘Stiles, watch out!’ He heard Isaac yell and he quickly stepped to his right, missing Hobo Face’s claws. He got distracted, starring at Scott, willing his friend to stand up, but he had hit his head on a tree, so that moment wouldn’t come soon.

‘I’ve never had Banshee meat before.’ He was bluffing, Stiles knew, but it was still scary.

Stiles didn’t comment, his hand tightening around a vial of mountain ash.

Hobo Face rolled his eyes. ‘You really think, you, a mere human, can have a chance against me?’

Stiles shrugged. He didn’t trust himself to talk. He knew the he would say something sarcastic that would make Hobo Face angry and he really didn’t want that now.

Hobo Face swung his claws at him, but Stiles was fast enough to avoid every attack.

‘You’re a fast one, huh?’ Stiles hated that smirk ‘But, there are some things no one can get away from.’ One second, Hobo Face was taking out a gun and the other, the bullet was being fired.

He heard someone scream, but he wasn’t sure if it was himself or someone else.

He closed his eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to come, but it never came.

He opened his eyes and saw Hobo Face’s shocked expression.

‘What?’ He whispered. His hands had a bright blue light on them, in the shape of a shield, and when he looked down, he saw the bullet lying there.

Stiles fell to his knees, suddenly tired, as the light disappeared. He realized that Lydia was now sitting up, a surprised expression on her face.

Hobo Face put his gun away. ‘A spark, huh?’ He smirked. ‘Now, that’s a twist.’

The two wendigos grinned at each other and left, walking away like nothing happened.

Derek came to them. The werewolf was covered in blood, both his and wendigo and dirt. If he was shocked by the turn of events, then he didn’t show it. He helped Lydia to her feet, the banshee leaning to him, thankful.

‘Can you walk?’ Derek asked her and the shaky step Lydia took was answer enough.

Stiles looked around him. Boyd was helping Erica stand up. Isaac was leaning against a tree beside Scott and Jackson was waiting for his broken foot to heal.

‘We should go to Deaton.’ Stiles finally said. His voice sounded weird to his own ears, quiet, far away.

Scott walked to him and helped his up. ‘Are you okay?’

Stiles started to nod, but then shook his head.

‘I don’t know.’

They were silent on the way back. The only sound was the annoyed huffs from Lydia as she continued to take shaky step after shaky step.

The Halloween party was still going on, music still blurring, tight little costumes still clinging on bodies and red cups still on hands like they were part of the human anatomy.

The sight made Derek both relieved and angry. Angry because how could others be having fun while they were fighting for their lives? Relieved, because no one from his pack got seriously injured and if the party continued just like it had before they left, that meant that nothing happened there as well.

Boyd decided to stay at Lydia’s house to keep an eye on things and Erica decided to stay as well.

‘Your costume is ruined.’ Stiles murmured to Derek, making the Alpha shrug. Now that Stiles thought about it, everyone’s costume was ruined. Even his had some tears on it from some close calls by Hobo dace’s claws.

‘I can buy the clothes again.’ Stiles looked at Derek. The make up on his face was barely there anymore, blood red and dirt brown replacing the white and black. Yellow buttons were missing from the coat and they should really fill a missing object form, because the black hat was missing as well.

They finally got to the vet’s office. The building was clearly closed for the night, but the vet himself was inside.

Scott knocked on the door and seconds later, Deaton opened it. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of them, but gave them a small nod and went back into the office, wordlessly, knowing that the pack would follow.

‘Sit here.’ The vet instructed Lydia who sat on the metal table.

Deaton took a sample of the blood on her wound and did some weird things with it that Stiles was too tired to try and follow. Derek’s shoulder was too comfortable to care, anyway.

‘You were scratched by the wendigo, right?’ Lydia nodded.

‘How long were you paralyzed?’ Deaton asked a few moments later.

‘Probably for about 10 minutes.’ The vet didn’t seem surprised by the news. He turned to Stiles.

‘Mr. Stilinski, you don’t look so good.’

Stiles snorted. ‘Yeah, well, stop a bullet with a strange blue light and then tell me if you’re not tired.’

Deaton only raised an eyebrow. ‘Please elaborate.’

‘Hobo Face took out a gun, fired at me, but the bullet never hit me. I opened my eyes and I had a shield made out of blue light around my hands.’ Deaton didn’t look surprised and it made Stiles feel both angry and relieved.

‘Did Hobo Face say anything else?’

‘He called me a spark.’ The vet smiled at that.

‘What does it mean?’ Derek asked.

‘The wendigo was wrong.’ Confused expressions me one another, but no one said anything. ‘He’s not a spark, yet.’

‘Yet?’ Stiles asked, taking a step forward, immediately missing the warmth Derek’s body provided. ‘What do you mean?’

Deaton had one of his patient faces on.

‘It means that you are a Scintilla. A tiny spark if you will.’ He explained at the confused looks he got.

‘And what’s a Scintilla?’ Isaac asked.

Deaton let out an exasperated sigh. ‘A Scintilla is a person who is not yet a spark. Stiles needs to train to become fully a spark.’

‘Train what?’ Scott wondered.

‘Everything.’ _Deaton_ shrugged. ‘A spark’s power comes from its belief.’ He turned to Stiles. ‘You need to train your endurance. You’re exhausted just by making a simple shield. There are stories of sparks that could power entire towns without breaking a sweat.’

‘So, I’m magic?’ Stiles asked in a voice filled with awe.

Deaton rolled his eyes. ‘In a sense.’

For the first time in his life, Stiles was too shocked to add anything.

‘And can you help him?’ Derek asked. He was silent, close to Stiles, but not close enough to touch.

‘I can train him, till he’s fully a spark.’ Deaton walked towards a cabinet and took out two huge books. They were old looking and dusty and Stiles wanted to groan because it was such a cliché move.

‘Read these.’ He gave the books to Stiles who almost let them fall. ‘We can train every day after school.’

‘And on weekends?’ Stiles asked.

‘If you can.’

Stiles gulped at the warning and adjusted the books on his hands.

They left the vet’s office, Stiles thoughts running all over the place as he desperately tried to put them in order.

‘What time is it?’ Someone asked. Was it Jackson? It could have been Scott. Or maybe Isaac.

‘Almost one.’ That was definitely Lydia. She could walk now, without Jackson’s help, even though the werewolf’s hand was on the small of her back.

Derek was a constant warmth on his side and Stiles leaned to him without thinking.

‘You screamed.’ The Alpha looked at him. ‘When Hobo Face fired the gun.’ Stiles licked his dry lips. ‘You screamed.’ He repeated.

Derek didn’t comment, but that was answer enough. ‘I’ll drive you home.’ Derek said instead.

Stiles nodded.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘Thanks for the ride.’ They were standing on Stiles’ porch, just outside the door.

Derek nodded in respond.

‘You should come and take a shower.’ Stiles said a few seconds later.

‘I’m fine.’

Stiles rolled his eyes, the books dangerously close to falling from his hands. ‘I’m sorry dude, but you look like shit.’

Derek huffed, but nodded.

They entered the house, heading straight to Stiles’ room, silent as to not wake the Sheriff.

Derek was standing in the center of the room, awkward and not sure of what to do.

Stiles, on the other hand, was opening and closing drawers, trying to find clothes big enough for Derek to wear.

‘Aha!’ He made a triumphant sound and gave Derek a pair of sweats and a long-sleeved gray shirt. The Alpha realized that they were the same sweats he had worn the last time and a small smile escaped his lips.

‘The shirt might be a little tight on you, but the sweats should be fine.’ Stiles said and Derek gave him a nod.

Stiles pointed towards the bathroom. ‘Towels are in the cabinet under the sink.’ He said. ‘Be free to use anything you want, except you know, my toothbrush, because; gross.’

Derek looked at the teenager as he rambled. He felt tired, the day’s events finally catching up to him. Derek knew that he would feel better if he took a shower, but he didn’t want to leave Stiles alone.

The human was capable of taking care of himself, he had proven that, even when he didn’t have any powers. But, now that he had, Derek was already dreading the next couple months.

He knew that Stiles wouldn’t do anything with his powers while he was taking a shower. He wouldn’t risk his father waking up and catching him on the act. No, Derek trusted Stiles. He just didn’t trust him alone with himself.

‘Come shower with me?’ The words were out of his mouth before he could properly think them and he looked down, shy.

Why was he shy?’ He was a 23-year-old Alpha werewolf. He didn’t do shy. Shyness was for high school kids ready to ask their crushes out on a date. He was Derek Hale.

But, he was also that 23-year-old Alpha werewolf that never got the chance to feel shy when asking his crush out on a date. No, he didn’t get that luxury.

Right now, he was that 23-year-old Alpha werewolf that wanted to scratch his face because the dirt and the blood were starting to itch.  Right now, he was someone that was staring at someone he realized he actually liked. Someone that wasn’t like Kate or Jennifer, and maybe, _maybe_ the luxury of feeling shy would come after all.

‘Are you sure?’ Stiles asked shocked and red around the ears.

Derek shrugged, composing himself. ‘We can save time and water that way.’ He said, in a way of logical speaking, trying to sound like this was the only purpose of his question in the first place.

Stiles nodded and stood up. He took his pajamas and pressed them tightly to his chest, like they were some kind of shield.

They entered the bathroom and then they just starred at each other, both of them silent and unmoving.

The Sheriff was still sleeping, just down the hall, and that should have been enough of a reminder for the both of them, but none of them seemed to care.

Stiles cleared his throat and took off his hoody. That was what broke the spell. A couple of minutes later, they were standing next to the shower, both naked and looking everywhere but each other.

The boy stepped forward and go into the shower. Derek’s eyes followed every step of Stiles’, his gaze fixed on his back muscles, on the constellation of moles that seemed to be going everywhere.

Derek stepped into the shower as well, behind Stiles. The human let the water run and winced when it hit him, bumping at Derek.

‘Cold.’ He muttered. The Alpha nodded, even though he knew Stiles couldn’t see him.

They changed places. This time, they were face to face as Derek was washing his face. They were both looking down at the brownish red water around their feet and when they looked up, their eyes met.

A drop of water was running down Stiles’ face, disappearing inside his parted lips and Derek wanted to chase it.

He took a small step forward, the water now hitting his back, bumping noses with Stiles.

Hands found their way to his hips as Stiles tried to steady himself and their eyes met again.

‘Hi.’ Breathed Stiles.

‘Hi.’ He put his hands on Stiles hips as well, bringing them closer as they both leaned in.

When their lips touched for the first time, it wasn’t like the movies. There were no fireworks, no two pieces finally becoming one. It was hungry and it was wet and there were teeth and tongue and it was perfect.

Derek started kissing Stiles’ jaw, trailing open mouthed kisses across his throat, licking at his moles, memorizing them, mapping them.

He pushed Stiles up against the shower wall, the water falling right down to the human as Derek fell to his knees.

‘Is this alright?’ He asked. Stiles’ breathing was heavy and his eyes were closed tightly. He took a deep breath and opened them, looking down at Derek.

He gave a shaky nod.

‘Yeah, I just. I’ve never done anything like this with a guy. Or a girl.’ Derek rubbed his hip soothingly.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything with a guy.’ Derek admitted.

He carefully placed one of his hands on the base of Stiles’ cock, making the boy shudder.

‘Tell me what do you want me to do.’

Stiles let out a small whimper, head falling back on the wall, as Derek moved his hand up and down, making him fully hard.

‘Just do something.’ Stiles pleaded.

Derek moved his hand a few more times. Stiles was rambling gibberish, half chocked moans coming out of his mouth and it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard.

He suddenly stopped moving his hand, an idea coming to him.

‘Why did you stop?’ Stiles asked, voice rough and dry.

‘Can I blow you?’ Derek looked up at Stiles, just in time to see the boy understand what he just said.

‘Yeah.’ Stiles groaned and thankfully, the water was there to mask the sound.

Derek didn’t miss a second and he put his mouth around Stiles’ head as soon as Stiles’ uttered the word.

The sound Stiles made could only be described as pornographic and Derek felt his own cock hardening in response. He took as much of Stiles’ cock as he could, hollowing his cheeks and licking.

Stiles was trying not to thrust, but he couldn’t help himself. When Derek groaned, sending vibrations and a feeling Stiles wasn’t too familiar with, all over his body, he thrusted forward, chocking the werewolf.

Derek gagged and stopped for a second to catch his breath. He coughed, once, twice, saliva connecting the head of Stiles’ cock with his lips.

‘I’m sorry.’ Stiles said. The water was slowly turning cold now, but none of them did anything to turn it off.

‘It’s okay.’ The boy gave him a small smile. ‘You don’t have to hold back.’ Derek told him.

Stiles let out a small whimper as Derek took his hands and put them on top of his head, fingers closing around black went locks, holding the werewolf at place, as Derek took Stiles in his mouth once again.

His hands travelled to Stiles’ ass, cupping it, pulling the human closer with more force.

His jaw had gone slack, giving Stiles the room to do anything he wanted.

‘I’m getting close.’ He moaned in response as he felt the hold on his hair tightening.

Stiles was a mess. He was breathing heavily now, moans and whimpers coming out of his mouth with every thrust he made.

‘Derek.’ Stiles warned, but the werewolf didn’t move. With a half-choked moan, Stiles came down Derek’s throat.

Derek swallowed it all, not missing a single drop. He licked Stiles’ abdomen and he chest as he rose to his feet and finally kissed the boy on the mouth.

Stiles groaned when he tasted himself, salty and slightly bitter, but he didn’t mind, because Derek tasted like candy and black coffee.

‘You didn’t.’ Derek looked down on himself. He had gone soft, but he didn’t care.

This night was one for firsts. Everything was a first for Stiles tonight, but not for Derek. This night was one for new things, new experiences and Derek was glad he could give all these to Stiles without asking anything in return.

‘I don’t mind.’ He kissed he boy on the nose as they go out of the shower.

While toweling each other, they would steal kisses, smiling shyly and looking away whenever they were caught staring.

They fell on Stiles’ bed in a mess of limbs, comfortable and soft clothing clinging to their bodies as Derek found himself on top of Stiles.

He kissed Stiles on the lips, then on his nose, then on his cheeks, trailing down to his neck.

Stiles was letting out small breathy moans that were getting louder as Derek was decorating his neck with red spot after reed spot.

His arms were around Derek’s neck, hands buried in his hair.

‘My father’s asleep.’ Stiles moaned, feeling a hickey forming.

‘Then try to be silent.’ Stiles only groaned in response.

‘Wait.’ Stiles suddenly said a few minutes later.

Immediately, Derek did as he was told and looked at Stiles, worried.

‘Is something wrong?’ Stiles shook his head, but he was looking everywhere except at the werewolf.

‘Stiles.’ Derek tilted his head up and Stiles could do nothing but gaze into Derek’s eyes.

‘Is this an one-time thing?’ The boy asked, voice soft and reserved.

Derek swallowed carefully. ‘Do you want it to be?’

Stiles gave him a small smile. ‘I really don’t.’

Derek smiled. It wasn’t like one of the other smiles Stiles had seen before. It wasn’t cocky or the kind of smile that spelled trouble. It was small, genuine and relieved. It was something personal that Derek felt comfortable sharing with Stiles.

‘Good.’ Said the Alpha and kissed Stiles.

They continued kissing until they had to stop, because Stiles was yawning.

‘No.’ Stiles whined. Derek let out a small breathy laugh and fell to his side.

‘It’s late.’ Derek said. ‘Go to sleep.’

‘Stay?’

‘Do you want me to?’ Stiles looked at him, a big smile on his face.

‘Yeah.’ Derek nodded and got comfortable beside Stiles.

‘Why are you the big spoon?’ Stiles complained with no real heat behind it.

‘I’m bigger.’

‘You still chocked.’ Stiles reminded him, sleepily.

‘Shut up Stiles.’

 


	4. Chapter 4

It was dark. He couldn’t see clearly in front of him. But, he could smell. The smell of earth after rain. So, he was outside. Maybe in a forest.

Suddenly, there was light. Once again, he was at the Nemeton.

His hands felt weird. It was like there was another layer of skin that you could peel off of you, but was hard to do so. They were itchy and sticky and he hated it.

He saw Lydia standing in front of the dead-alive tree and he walked towards her. He felt weird upon seeing the Banshee, like something woke up inside of him. Something he didn’t want to wake up.

The girl turned towards him, eyes widening when she saw him.

‘Stiles.’ She said surprised. That something woke up further.

He smirked, ‘I don’t think so.’

Lydia took a step back, but the tree stopped her. He put his hands on her shoulders, the Banshee trying to move away, but she couldn’t.

‘You can’t be here.’ She said. Hands travelled to her throat. ‘We killed you.’ A hand went up to the side of her head.

He laughed, the sound leaving his mouth making him shiver.

But, who was him? Stiles? The Nogitsune?

‘You really think a sword could kill me?’ He shook his head as if he was reprimanding her. ‘You, petty little human. I am a thousand-year-old spirit. Nothing can kill me.’ The hand one her throat moved up to her chin.

Her eyes widened, as if she knew what was going to happen. She trashed harder, but he wasn’t letting her go.

But, who was he? There was no voice inside his head this time. Stiles wasn’t trapped inside his own body. His hands felt like his own. All the movements felt like his own. Lydia felt real, too. Her strawberry blond hair tickling Stiles’ fingertips felt real. Her green eyes filled with unshed tears felt real. Was he real?

‘I am.’ He said. With a smirk, he quickly moved his hands, snapping Lydia’s neck, letting the now lifeless girl fall to the ground.

He walked a little bit further, leaving Lydia’s dead body on the ground by the Nemeton.

His smile was unusual big, but for some reason he did feel happy. Like, killing Lydia was the start of something great, like killing his friends was his only purpose in this world.

He found Isaac a few minutes later and when he looked around, he realized that they were at the Nemeton again. But, Lydia’s body was nowhere to be found.

The Beta werewolf took a step back upon seeing him.

Why? He was just Stiles. He didn’t have any blood on him.

The fact that he didn’t feel any different made him sick to his stomach, because he knew that he should be feeling different. He had just killed one of his best friends and he was pretty sure he was going to kill another one. But, he just continued walking towards the curly-haired werewolf, a smirk playing on his lips.

‘Hello, Isaac.’ He said, voice transforming into something soft and playful, like the one you use when you talk to a puppy or a child.

‘What are you doing here, Stiles?’ Isaac asked, wary, but not scared.

‘Thought I could go for a walk.’ Stiles shrugged. The scary part was that he was telling the truth. ‘You?’

‘I’m waiting for Scott.’ Isaac said, suddenly shy.

Were they going on a date? Cute.

He smirked.

‘Scott isn’t coming. I killed him a nightmare ago.’

Isaac’s eyes widened. ‘You’re not lying.’ He took a step back, but the Nemeton was in the way.

Stiles nodded. ‘I’m not.’ Suddenly, he was in front of the Beta werewolf, hands around his throat, as Isaac stood there, unable to move and defend himself.

‘Do you want to go and meet Scott?’ Stiles smirked. ‘Do you want to have hot, dirty sex with him? You do, don’t you?’ The soft and playful voice was back. ‘What about Allison, Isaac?’ The werewolf tried to shake his head, but the grip on his neck was too tight. ‘Would you really do that to one of your friends? Fuck her boyfriend only months after her death?’ Tears were running down Isaac’s face, curly blond locks moving as he tried to free himself.

‘It’s not like that.’ Isaac cried softly, but Stiles shook his head as if he hadn’t heard him.

‘It’s pathetic.’ His hands started to move upwards, his unforgiving grip on Isaac’s neck never going away.

‘Did your father hit you that hard?’ The werewolf was making chocked noises, useless hands trying to pry open Stiles’ ones.

With a quick move of Stiles’ hands, a sickening crutching sound of flesh being ripped apart was heard and seconds later, Stiles stood with Isaac’s head in his hands.

Wide, lifeless blue eyes were staring back at whiskey brown ones, mouth wide open in a silent scream. Stiles grinned and threw the head behind him, carefully stepping over Isaac’s dead body.

‘Only four more to go.’ He licked his lips, tasting the metallic flavor of Isaac’s blood.

He walked further into the forest, trying to find the other members of the pack.

Suddenly, everything went white and there was someone inside his head, saying something louder each time. His ears were ringing and his head was hurting. It was starting to get unbearable and when he touched his face, he realized that his nose was bleeding.

He felt immensely heavy and he fell to the ground, clutching his eyes shut and curling to himself.

The voice was clear in his mind now, deafening and he realized that someone was screaming his name.

Soon, he opened his eyes and he found himself in his bedroom, with someone holding his down. He trashed around, but soon grew tired of it.

‘Stiles.’ A soft voice whispered his name and he realized that the one holding him down was Derek.

Sweet memories of last night flooded his mind and he completely relaxed because Derek had kept his promise. He had stayed.

The werewolf helped him sit up, hands around shoulders as Stiles leaned back at him, small whimpers escaping his mouth every now and then.

‘What do you want me to do?’ Derek asked him gently.

‘Hold me for a while.’ His voice was small, wet and pained. Silent tears were still running down his face. He felt Derek nod behind him and the werewolves’ arms tightened around his shoulder and chest.

Derek started rocking them back and forth and Stiles allowed a small smile to form on his lips.

‘Do you want to talk about it?’ Derek asked when he knew Stile’s heart was beating normally.

The boy stayed silent for several minutes and Derek didn’t press him to talk.

‘I killed Lydia and Isaac.’ Stiles whispered, so low he wasn’t even sure he said it, but Derek clearly heard him.

The werewolf turned him around and properly hugged him. Stiles melted into the embrace and let out a content sigh. Derek kissed him on the forehead, then on his cheeks, then on his nose, making the boy giggle.

‘Can I kiss you?’ Derek’s voice was soft when he asked and it made butterflies appear in Stiles’ stomach.

‘Please.’ Stiles whispered and Derek was quick to follow his plea.

He kissed the boy softly on the lips, without using any tongue. It was small pecks on the lips, but powerful enough to make Stiles feel safe again.

Stiles let out a small gasp when Derek touched one of the red spots he had decorated Stiles’ neck with last night.

‘Are you alright?’ Stiles nodded and gave him a small, yet, bright smile. It was enough of a sight to make Derek smile as well.

‘I like your smile.’ Stiles told the werewolf. ‘You should smile more.’

Derek shook his head, the smile still decorating his lips. He pecked Stiles on the lips one more time and looked at the door. ‘Your father’s awake.’ He said and Stiles looked at his clock.

‘It’s eight already?’

‘You can sleep more if you want.’ Derek told him.

Stiles shook his head. ‘Nah, I’d like to start on the books Deaton gave me.’ Derek nodded and stood up.

‘Stay for breakfast?’ The blinding smile Derek gave Stiles was answer enough.

‘Sure.’

‘Are we going to tell my father?’ Stiles asked, waving a hand between them.

Derek sat next to him on the bed. ‘Do you want to?’

Stiles shrugged. ‘It’s inevitable. It’s best he finds out from us.’ Derek nodded and gave him a small kiss.

They walked downstairs, slowly, Stiles nervously playing with the hem of his shirt.

The Sheriff was surprised at seeing Derek, but not that surprised. Stiles couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

‘Derek, ‘He gave the werewolf a small, yet friendly smile. ‘Didn’t know you were here.’ Derek shifted from foot to foot, and gave a small smile himself.

Stiles had never seen Derek like this. Nervous. He was acting like a teenager and Stiles realized that he never really got the chance to act like one. But, it was nice. Not being the only nervous one.

‘Are you staying for breakfast, Derek?’ John asked and Derek his head slowly towards Stiles. The boy gave him a nod and a small smile.

‘If you’d have me, sir.’

They sat down on the table, Stiles and Derek on one side and the Sheriff on the other.

They were silent, eating their food, staring at their plates, oblivious to the amused looks John was sending their way.

‘Okay, I’ll bite.’ John pushed his plate away. ‘You’re going to tell me what’s up?’

Stiles cleared his throat. ‘We don’t have something to tell you.’ He let out a nervous laugh.

Derek sighed fondly and bumped his shoulder with Stiles’.

‘I’m waiting.’ Said the Sheriff.

Stiles was playing with his food, while Derek was staring at his empty plate.

John sighed. ‘Look guys, is the fact that you two are together that much of a hard thing to tell me?’

Derek tensed and Stiles chocked on his water.

‘What?’ He sputtered.

The Sheriff starred at his son, unamused, an eyebrow raised.

‘I’m the Sheriff.’ He said and Derek tensed even more.

‘Derek is wearing your clothes, so he apparently slept here. You walked downstairs together. You’re sitting next to each other.’ He pointed out.

‘I do the same things with Scott.’ It was a weak attempt of an excuse and he didn’t really know why he was even using excuses, but the hand Derek had on his thigh was both comforting him and making him nervous.

‘Derek has his hand on your thigh and you have hickeys all over your neck.’ John deadpanned and Derek immediately removed his hand and Stiles put his hand on his neck, covering the red spots.

The Sheriff sighed and stood up, breakfast and coffee long gone. ‘I really don’t have a problem with you being together.’ Stiles sighed in relief and gave his father a small smile. Derek, on the other hand, was still tensed, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

‘But,’ There it was. ‘Stiles is still underage, so no funny business till he’s eighteen.’ Stiles groaned, fighting the blush that was slowly spreading all over his face. Derek was still tensed next to him, but he was tensed with red ears, because apparently, he only blushed there.

John put his plate and mug in the sink. ‘I’m really happy for you.’ He turned to them with a smile.

‘Thanks dad.’ Stiles said softly.

They talked some more about the events of last night, leaving out Stiles’ magic for the time being, until the Sheriff left.

Derek immediately relaxed when he heard the door close, making Stiles snort beside him.

‘Shut up, Stiles.’

Stiles laughed and kissed him on the cheek before standing up and putting their plates and mugs in the sink.

‘Are you staying?’ Derek shook his head.

‘I’d better go check up on the pack.’ Stiles nodded.

‘I’ll start on the books. Scott might come later to hang out.’

‘We have movie night tonight.’ Said Derek and kissed him.

Stiles returned the kiss. ‘I’ll be there.’ They continued kissing each other for the next few minutes. There was no heat behind those kisses, no tongue, no moans or groans. Only happy sighs and small touches on their arms and backs.

‘I really have to go.’ Derek breathes against Stiles’ lips.

Derek didn’t leave for the next half hour.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘God, you reek of Stiles.’ Erica said when she took a good look at Derek. ‘Wait,’ She raised an eyebrow and a smirk grew on her face. ‘Are those Stiles’ clothes?’

Derek sighed and sat on the couch. ‘What do you want, Erica?’

The Beta werewolf shrugged and sat on his lap. ‘You smell happy.’ She smiled at him.

‘I am happy.’ Derek answered.

‘You also smell like Stiles. A lot.’ She added.

Derek raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that a problem?’

Erica jumped up with an excited scream, making Derek wince.

‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying?’ She all but screamed.

‘Depends on what you think I’m saying.’ He smirked back, making her groan.

‘Come on, Derek!’ She complained. ‘Are Stiles and you together?’ She asked genuinely curious and Derek decided to stop messing with her.

‘Yes, we are.’ He answered and she screamed again.

This time, Boyd and Isaac came to see what was wrong.

‘We heard screaming.’ Isaac said, looking around wary. Boyd went to Erica to see if she was alright, but she only hugged him, too excited to talk.

‘What’s wrong?’ Boyd asked Derek, who had his head in his hands, chuckling at the ridiculousness of the situation.

‘Erica is happy.’ He answered and Isaac glared at him.

‘We got that.’ The Beta said. ‘Why is she so happy?’

‘I’m not telling it twice. You are werewolves. You should have heard it the first time.’ Derek said, smirking at the looks he received.

‘I was listening to music!’ Isaac defended.

Derek waved a hand and stood up. ‘I’m going for a run. Erica, it’s your turn to cook tonight.’ He took off his clothes and quickly transformed before they could complain about his nudity.

He wiggled his tail from side to side and barked at them, until an amused Boyd opened the door for him.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘What are you cooking tonight?’ Isaac asked Erica.

They were at the grocery store. Boyd was pushing the shopping cart, while Erica and Isaac were on either side of him.

‘I’m thinking about pasta.’ She said with a thoughtful expression on. ‘With broccoli, bacon and heavy cream.’

‘Sound good.’ Boyd told her and she gave him a small smile.

‘With garlic bread?’ Isaac looked at her hopeful, blue eyes wide and shining bright.

‘If you’re a good pup.’ She winked at him.

He glared at her without any heat behind it and continued walking.

She chuckled and continued walking, checking her list and putting things in the cart every few steps.

‘What happened earlier with Derek?’ Boyd asked a few minutes later.

It was early afternoon and usually the grocery store would be almost empty at such hour, but today it was unusually flooded with people. It was driving the three wolves crazy.

‘Stiles and Derek finally realized they had feelings for each other.’ She answered.

‘Finally!’ Screamed Isaac from a few feet in front of them.

‘Now it’s just time for you and Scott.’ Erica whispered, knowing the blue-eyes werewolf could hear her.

She smiled when he flipped her off and laughed when an elderly woman gave him a dirty look.

‘Erica.’ Isaac whispered moments later. He had stopped walking and he sounded scared and small, much like the Isaac he was before Derek gave him the bite. Erica rushed to his side, shopping for the dinner now completely forgotten as Boyd went to them in a more controlled, yet fast walk.

‘What’s wrong?’ She asked concerned.

It was moments like these that Isaac felt that the whole supernatural world and the pain that came with it were worth it. Nothing could compare with the knowledge that you’ll never be alone again, that someone will always come to your aid, that someone will always have your back.

‘He’s here.’ Erica turned her head towards the direction Isaac had his eyes fixed on and she let her eyes shine bright yellow for a second.

‘Hey, hey.’ Boyd quickly interfered when he heard the faint traces of a growl. ‘He doesn’t know that we’re here. We have that to our advantage.’ Erica didn’t relax and Isaac didn’t avert his eyes from Theo. Boyd sighed. ‘Let’s just finish our shopping and get the hell out of here.’ Erica nodded, but didn’t move from Isaac’s side.

Boyd touched Isaac’s neck and felt the other boy tense for a second before relaxing when the wolf recognized its pack mate.

‘Alright?’ Isaac let out a shaky breath and gave Boyd a small, hesitant smile.

‘Let’s just get over with it.’

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Stiles opened one of the books Deaton gave him and coughed as a wave of dust hit him on the face.

‘That’s so cliché.’ He groaned and waved his hands in front of his face to get the offending substance away from him.

_‘A spark is a person who has magic inside of them. This power comes from their belief. This power isn’t linked with blood, so every spark is unique.’_ Stiles read and made an impressed sound.

‘I’m unique. Who would have thought.’ He muttered and continued reading.

He skipped through the next few pages until he finally found the spells.

_**‘Simple spells for beginners.’** _ He read and snorted.

_‘One of the easier spells is the one of creating light. Close your eyes and put you hand in front of you, palm up. Imagine a bright ball of light forming on your palm. It will feel warm and pulsing. That’s your magic. You might feel tired after, so have some snacks with you.’_

It looked like on if the DIY videos and it was so ridiculous, Stiles thought it was only a dream, but it advised him to eat and he wasn’t going to object to that.

He went to the kitchen and took a bag of chips from his secret place and quickly went back to his room.

‘Okay. So, palm up,’ H sat on his bed, shifting to get comfortable. ‘Closed eyes,’ He closed his eyes. ‘And just imagine a ball of light on your palm. Nothing weird about that.’ He imagined a bright ball of light, small like a tennis ball and opened his eyes. There was nothing on his palm.

He made a disappointed sound and closed his eyes again.

This time, he imagined the ball of light forming from just a small, barely there ball, to something big, the size of his palm.

He opened his eyes, but nothing had happened once again.

‘What am I doing wrong?’ He whined and went back to the book.

‘Close your eyes….palm up…imagine.’ He murmured and then his eyes widened.

‘How could I not see that?!’ He face-palmed. At the bottom of the page, right after the steps of how to do the spell, was the word **Believe** in big bold letters.

He closed his eyes again, palm up, imagining the ball of light forming on his palm, but this time, he believed it would happen. He felt warmth spreading through his hand and he quickly opened his eyes.

He screamed in delight at the small ball of light that couldn’t be bigger than a tennis ball.

A few seconds later, his smile started falling from his face. ‘How do I make you leave?’ He opened the book again and found a spell just after the one he used now.

**_‘How to take light.’_** It was like the book was mocking him, but he read the steps with only a small scoff on his face.

‘Palm up….close eyes…imagine the light disappearing.’ This time, he didn’t need to read the word Believe. The word was sewed on his mind.

He felt the warmth going away and he opened his eyes only to see his bare hand.

He tried the two spells a few more times until he could do both of them in seconds with his eyes open. He had to stop and eat his chips because he felt like passing out.

He read a few more spells, but didn’t try to do them. Any time now, Scott would come over and he wanted to have energy to show him the two spells he had learned.

His window opened and Scott jumped in, startling Stiles and making him scream.

It was a perfectly manly scream, thank you very much.

‘What happened to civilization, people?!’ He yelled. ‘Are you all taking lessons from Derek? Is it a secret werewolf class that I’m not invited? How to make Stiles scream 101?’

Scott sat next to him on the bed and smiled big at him.

Stiles let out a sigh. He couldn’t stay mad at him. He wasn’t even mad at him in the first place. Not a lot, anyway.

Scott’s eyes found Stiles’ neck and they widened.

It was almost comical, but Stiles wasn’t laughing.

‘Is that what I think it is?’ He went to touch his neck and Stiles slapped his hand away.

‘Depends on what you think it is.’ Stiles said with a small smile.

‘Dude!’ Scott high fived him. ‘When?’

‘Last night.’ Stiles admitted, suddenly shy.

Scott, bless his soul, pointed at the still open book on Stiles’ lap.

‘Did you learn a spell yet?’ He asked like an excited puppy and Stiles couldn’t help but grin at him.

‘Two.’

‘Show me.’

Stiles, palm up, told Scott to not get too excited because it wasn’t anything big.

One second his palm was empty and the other, a ball of light was on it, shining bright and pulsing, alive and warm.

‘That’s so cool.’ Scott said in awe. A second later, the light was gone.

‘That’s all I know.’ Stiles shrugged. ‘For now, at least.’

‘That’s amazing.’ Scott sighed. ‘When’s your first lesson with Deaton?’ He asked.

‘Monday, right after school.’ Stiles answered.

‘Does your father know?’

Stiles shook his head. ‘He found about Derek and I this morning.’ He said. ‘I don’t want to excite him too much.’

Scott nodded, understanding. ‘You’ll tell him though, right?’

‘I’ll try to tell him tomorrow.

Scott hummed in agreement. ‘Want to play some COD until we leave?’ He asked and Stiles smirked.

‘You know me so well.’ He said, putting the book on his desk.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘You still have the hickeys.’

Stiles gave Derek a small smile and shrugged. Scott had gone inside to help Isaac set the table.

‘I tried to cover them with a scarf, but it was too hot.’ He admitted. Derek’s face fell a little.

‘Do you want to cover them?’ He asked.

‘Nah.’ Stiles smiled at him. ‘I really don’t.’

Derek relaxed. ‘Good.’ He gave him a peck on the lips and they both walked inside.

When Stiles stepped inside the kitchen, Erica left her post and ran to him, almost knocking him down.

‘Finally.’ She told him and touched a red spot on his neck, making him gasp slightly. She winked at him and went back to chopping bacon.

Isaac smiled at him and gave him a thumb up, while Boyd gave him a single, yet, genuine nod.

Stiles gave them a smile and went to the living room where Lydia and Jackson were sitting.

Lydia gave a single look at his neck and went back on checking her nails. Jackson, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed on Stiles’ neck with a confused and shocked expression on his face.

‘Who’s the unlucky lady?’ He asked dryly.

Before Stiles could answer, Derek came up behind him and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

‘Dinner’s ready.’ The Alpha announced, giving Jackson a small glare.

Stiles didn’t wait to see the expression on the Beta werewolf’s face. He already knew how it looked.

As soon as they sat down on the table, Isaac took a huge piece of garlic bread, taking a big bite, moaning shamelessly, oblivious to the stares aimed his way.

Scott quickly averted his eyes and started eating, complementing Erica for the food.

‘Thanks.’ She said with a shy smile. It was so different a smile from the one she usually wore. It was beautiful.

They finished eating with small talk and jokes aimed to each other. If that was what being in a pack felt like, Stiles would happily spend his life in one. Preferably, this one.

‘What are we watching?’ Isaac asked as they made their way to the living room, each one holding their choice of snacks and drinks.

‘It’s Lydia’s turn to choose.’ Derek reminded them, rolling his eyes when they groaned.

Lydia smirked evilly. ‘We’re watching the Notebook.’ She said and they groaned again.

They all took their usual seats, except this time, Derek sat in one of the loveseats, pulling Stiles on his lap. Stiles blushed, but got comfortable.

20 minutes into the movie, Isaac started complaining.

With an exasperated sigh, Lydia paused the movie.

‘God, put another movie on! I can’t even hear myself breathe from all of your complaining.’ Nobody said anything. No one would admit it, but they all were a little scared of Lydia. Even Derek.

‘I really don’t feel like watching a movie.’ Scott said, looking down, afraid of Lydia’s wrath.

‘What do you want to do then?’ Derek asked.

Stiles suddenly brightened. ‘I learned two spells.’ He said.

Derek patted him on the thigh in congratulations.

‘Show us!’ Erica said excited.

He did.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘You’re going home?’ Scott asked Stiles when school was officially over for the day.

Stiles shook his head. ‘I’m going to Deaton for training.’ He reminded him.

Scott nodded. ‘You’re telling your father?’

‘I’ll tell him on dinner tonight.’

‘Do you want me there?’

Stiles gave him a small smile. ‘I’d rather do it myself.’

Scott decided to change the subject. ‘So, you’re good with Derek?’

Stiles let out a small sigh. It wasn’t a dreamy sigh. He would fight you over it. ‘We’re good.’

‘No more nightmares?’

He could lie. He knew he could. But, what would he accomplish with a lie?

‘Not as many.’ Stiles said.

‘Derek helps though, right?’

‘He does.’ Stiles answered honestly.

‘That’s enough for me.’ Scott said. They said their goodbyes and parted ways.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

‘Hello, Mr. Stilinski.’ Deaton greeted him with a nod.

‘Doctor Deaton.’ Stiles nodded back. ‘Smiling as always.’

The man let out a sigh, but didn’t comment.

He led Stiles to the back of the clinic, into a room he had never been before.

There was a table with three wooden chairs inside the room. Huge shelves with big books more ancient that Beacon Hills, covered with dust, were decorating the walls.

Stiles let out an impressed whistle.

Deaton turned to him. ‘What do you see, Stiles?’

Stiles gave him a confused look.

‘What do you mean?’ He asked. ‘I see books.’

‘Look closer.’ Deaton advised.

Stiles did look closer. He could still only see books.

‘I only see bo- wait.’ He walked closer to the wall to his left. Something weird was going on at the middle shelve.

The books were changing right before his eyes.

‘What do you see, Stiles?’ Deaton asked again.

‘Bottles.’ Stiles answered, still confused. ‘Bottles and jars.’

Deaton nodded. ‘Good. Do you recognize anything in those containers?’

Stiles walked closer to the wall. ‘There’s wolfsbane.’ He took a look from left to right. ‘And mountain ash. And chamomile leaves.’ He said.

Deaton didn’t say anything. But, he did seem impressed. If his stoic and never smiling face was anything to go by.

‘What was that?’ Stiles asked a few seconds later. He was confused, but wary. Everything was new and sudden and he couldn’t help but feel intrigued.

‘A simple illusion spell.’ Deaton said as if it was nothing. But, for Stiles it was everything.

‘So, you are magic, too?’ Stiles asked and Deaton nodded. It was a weird movement. He nodded, but shrugged at the same time. Was that magic as well?

‘There are two kinds of sparks. You and me. Both kinds need their belief to achieve things.’ The doctor explained in the vaguest way possible.

‘So, you and I are different.’ Stiles nodded, drinking all the new information, putting it away for later, sleepless nights waiting for him. ‘How different?’

‘You use your spark to defend yourself and the people around you. I use it for knowledge.’

‘But, if I wanted, I could use it for knowledge as well, right?’ Deaton was starting to get impatient, but Stiles had so many questions to ask, so many things to learn and ponder over.

‘Yes, Stiles. You could. Not as efficiently as me, but the result would be satisfying.’ Stiles was silent for a long time, meaning only a few seconds, but Deaton must have picked it as a clue that Stiles had no more questions.

Deaton picked up a book. ‘Did you learn any spells, yet?’ He asked. The book was a copy of one of the two Stiles had at home. The one Deaton was holding seemed even more older than his own copy. Where did Deaton even find those books?

Stiles showed him. Deaton examined the ball of light on Stiles’ hand carefully, like it was an object that needed to be treated gently or else it could destroy everything they held dear. It probably could.

‘Make it go away.’ It was a request, but Deaton had a way of making everything sound like an order, even when that wasn’t his goal.

Stiles made the ball of light go away. ‘Conjure it again.’ It went on like that for a few more minutes. Stiles would conjure the light and make it go away without thinking about it. It was amazing what he would do with practice, but he was getting light-headed.

Deaton handed him a dark chocolate bar, advising him to not eat it fast. Stiles took it gratefully and took a small bite, feeling the so needed energy filling him.

‘Did you read more of the books I gave you?’ Stiles shook his head and took another small bite of the chocolate bar.

‘I didn’t really have the time.’ Stiles answered.

Deaton nodded. ‘Conjure the light again, Mr. Stilinski.’ He requested and this time it sounded more of a request than an order. Stiles didn’t know why, but he was a little thankful for that.

He conjured the light again. Deaton pointed towards one of the lightbulbs on the ceiling.

‘The lightbulb is off.’ Deaton said. Stiles nodded. ‘There is no electricity in this room.’

Stiles quickly scanned the room and nodded in agreement. There were no cables, no generators in this room. The only source of light was the sunlight that was coming in from the opened window.

‘If you want someone to fix that problem for you, then I’m not your guy. I know nothing about cables and all that.’ Deaton shook his head and let a small sigh escape his lips. People did that a lot when Stiles was around.

‘What I want, is for you to imagine the light you have on your palm travelling to the lightbulb on the ceiling.’ Deaton said.

Stiles stood still for a moment before nodding and closing his eyes. He opened them seconds later, but nothing had happened to the lightbulb.

‘Try again.’ Deaton advised. Stiles did. Again, nothing happened. Stiles sighed and run a hand down his face.

‘Again.’ Deaton didn’t seem bothered or rather disappointed by Stiles’ lack of success. It was like he was waiting for it to happen.

Stiles tried again. The lightbulb was still lightless.

‘You just have to be-‘

‘Believe, yes I know!’ Stiles groaned. ‘It’s just hard.’

Deaton gave him the chocolate bar, nodding at him to take a bite. Stiles did without question.

‘You need to clear your head. The only thing you must be thinking of is that lightbulb turning on.’

Stiles sighed and closed his eyes. He tried to clear his head, the image of the light travelling to the lightbulb the only thing on his mind. He opened his eyes, ready to be disappointed once again, but there was no light on his palm. He looked at the ceiling and the light bulb was on.

He didn’t make a sound. He was too shocked to make a sound. He looked at Deaton who had an approving smile on his lips.

Stiles took another bite of his chocolate.

‘Now,’ Stiles turned to the doctor ‘I want you to imagine the light travelling back on your palm.’

‘Like my own personal Deluminator?’ Stiles asked excited. Deaton didn’t seem to get the reference and Stiles let it pass.

He closed his eyes, imagining the light travelling to his palm, believing that it would happen and when he opened his eyes, the light bulb was lightless once again and a small ball of light was on his palm.

‘That was fast.’ He murmured.

‘Your magic is getting used to you and you are getting used to your magic.’ Deaton explained.

Stiles nodded and sat down on one of the chairs. The chocolate wasn’t working as efficiently as it was working moments ago and he felt exhausted.

‘We’re done for the day.’ Stiles let out a sigh of relief. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. Sighing. He stood up.

‘I’ll be back tomorrow.’ He picked up his school bag. ‘Same time?’ He asked and Deaton nodded.

The vet walked him to the door, but before he could walk outside he stopped him.

‘There’s potential in you.’ Deaton told him. ‘Don’t waste it.’ And he was gone.

Stiles decide to not ponder on those words. He was too tired. And he had to go make dinner for his father.

‘Great.’ He muttered and walked towards his car.

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it so far the you deserve a cookie!  
> *gives cookie*  
> Hope you liked this chapter and if you did then leave a comment!


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